


Moments Captured in Time

by ShiyaHawk



Category: Justice League & Justice League Unlimited (Cartoons)
Genre: Brother-Sister Relationships, Drabble Collection, Drama, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, F/M, Family, Family Drama, Family Secrets, Father-Daughter Relationship, Father-Son Relationship, Fatherhood, Fluff and Angst, Humor, Mother-Daughter Relationship, Mother-Son Relationship, Motherhood, One Shot Collection, Pregnancy, Romance
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2013-01-15
Updated: 2016-04-19
Packaged: 2017-11-25 13:44:18
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 48
Words: 57,873
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/639479
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ShiyaHawk/pseuds/ShiyaHawk
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>HGGL One-shot/Drabble series. There are moments in life that are truly spectacular, some...not so much. These are those moments in the lives of John Stewart, Shayera Hol, and their, at times, unconventional and unique family.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Halloween

**A/N:** So here we are. I don't know what I can promise with this. Hopefully it'll come out alright. Not all moments will be pleasant though some will, I can promise that.

Set pre- and post-Starcrossed and everything in between. Some future chapters may make some reference to _Small Talk_ and _Alien_.

* * *

Shayera looked curiously at John as she was lying on her stomach on the bed, kicking her feet back and forth behind her in pure boredom. Her mask was discarded next to her.

"So what exactly is this Halloween that Flash mentioned?"

"It's a holiday."

"Oh is it like Christmas?" She asked as she started to smile. "Because I love Christmas."

"Shayera, I explained to you that not all holidays are like Christmas," He watched her mouth form a frown instead. "Halloween is when people dress up in costumes and go out trick-or-treating."

She scrunched her nose up, "What's trick-or-treating?"

"Well that's when they go door to door getting free candy." He explained.

"And these costumes these people wear, what do they dress up as exactly?" She questioned. So far none of this was making sense to her.

"Well someone might wear a Superman, Batman, or even a Joker costume." He then added. "Well they can dress up as anyone really."

Shayera turned over on her back, being extremely careful of her wings as she did so. She let her head hang off the edge of the bed as she looked up at him. "So let me get this straight, you can get dressed up as any person imaginable and get all the candy you want. What kind of stupid holiday is that? Where's all the gifts and celebration?"

"Halloween isn't about getting gifts or celebrating. It's just about having fun. Remember what I told you about Easter."

"Yeah a big, stupid rabbit leaves eggs real fascinating," She sarcastically muttered as she rolled her eyes. "Look John, I'm trying to understand all of these Earth holidays. Really I am. But I just can't fathom why you humans would get all dressed up to get candy while you could instead go to a dollar store and buy a ton of it."


	2. Never

She was told to trust no one, never reveal her face, never reveal her true name, and tell nothing but lies.

She broke the first order when she joined the Justice League and placed her trust in the other members.

The second order was broken the night Joker planted the bombs in Las Vegas. She allowed John to remove her mask.

Only a day later, when John had asked what her name was, she broke the third order.

The last order was broken when she learned of the Hyperspace Bypass Generator and told the League of what was to come.


	3. Rules of Motherhood

**A/N:** Set after the Epilogue in _Alien_.

* * *

Shayera sighed as she let the warm water cascade over her aching muscles, drenching her hair so that it hung in a heavy blanket down her back; this shower was _definitely_ way past due. It had been a long, hard week, and she had been feeling so _overwhelmed_ lately. She concentrated on the sounds of the water rushing down around her, the feel of the tile beneath her feet, imagining that her aches, troubles, and stress were all draining down with the water. It was so nice...

"Mommy!" A small voice called, and somewhat whined, from the other side of the shower curtain. Shayera sighed, so much for relaxing.

"Yes Emma honey, what is it?" She tried to ask as kindly as she could. She had left the bathroom door open. She always did, in case there was an emergency with the children but she almost regretted it now.

Emma heaved a sigh that almost matched her mother's.

"Rex keeps taking _my_ stuffed bunny!" She replied in an annoyed tone. Shayera pasted her best 'mommy-smile' on her face and pulled the curtain back a bit to look at her daughter.

"Sweetheart, you know you have to share with your little brother. He's younger than you."

"I know Mommy but he _won't leave me alone_!" Emma accentuated each emphasized word with a stamp of her small foot. Shayera's smile was genuine and accompanied by a chuckle this time.

"Go find something else to play with and he'll leave you alone," She promised Emma. The little girl sighed again and disappeared out the door.

Shayera let the curtain fall back into place and shook her head, allowing herself a small laugh at the politics of her children. She squeezed shampoo into her open hand and began to lather her hair, already forgetting the small squabble as she inhaled the sweet, flowery aroma. Yes, this was most certainly what she needed today...

Suddenly an ear-piercing scream cut through the fog of contentment that had surrounded her and she snatched the curtain back quickly as a small boy with untidy black hair came skidding into the bathroom, howling and wiping tears from his face.

"Rex! What's wrong sweetheart?" Shayera said in a rush. Her eyes went over his appearance quickly; he didn't seem to be bleeding or have anything broken, although he had obviously been the source of the scream.

"Em-Emma hit me! She hit me in my nose Mommy!" He said through his sobs.

Shayera's eyes narrowed, shampoo dripped down her cheek. She continued to hold the shower curtain in front of her as she stood in the shower, deliberating over whether or not to run through the apartment to find Emma and discipline her for hitting her brother. In the end she decided to take the low road.

"Emma Stewart get in here now!" She shouted with a bit of a growl laced in.

Emma appeared less than a second later, looking quite smug as she held her stuffed rabbit under one arm.

"Did you punch your brother in the nose?" Shayera asked, trying to remain calm, but felt her temper beginning to slip.

Emma shook her head solemnly. Shayera sighed. Well, at least there was that. As ironic as it sounded, Shayera didn't like her children being violent with each other.

"No Mommy," Emma said sweetly, her emerald eyes wide and innocent as she looked up at her mother. "I didn't punch Rex in the nose."

"Good," Shayera said briskly, imagining that Rex had just overreacted to his sister taking the stuffed animal back and invented the story. Even though she hated to admit, Rex would have been a star pupil in a Thanagarian espionage class; he was a good little actor. Besides, Emma never lied, especially when she knew it would get her into further trouble and that lying to her mother would get her nowhere. She started to drop the shower curtain and lean back into the shower. She planned to tell Emma to give Rex a turn with the infernal rabbit and be a big girl but was interrupted.

"I _kicked_ him in the nose," Emma finished simply. So Rex wasn't faking after all. His sister did hit him

Shayera froze. A wave of hysteria washed over her so suddenly that she was extremely grateful she had dropped the curtain back and her children couldn't see the absurd smile that spread across her face. She struggled to bite back the wicked laugh that threatened to break through and ruin all of her parental authority.

She took a deep breath.

"Emma," She said finally, peeking around the curtain and trying to look as stern as possible. "Tell your brother you're sorry. That was extremely wrong of you; you could have really hurt him. And just let him have a turn with that rabbit for a bit. Then Rex, you give it back to your sister. It belongs to her not you. You can't take her stuff whenever you want to; you have to ask Emma first."

Emma groaned and rolled her eyes but handed over the stuffed animal with a mumbled apology while looking in the opposite direction. Shayera nodded, satisfied, and Rex took the rabbit with a large grin.

"You missed anyway!" Rex said, sticking out his tongue and running from the room laughing. Yes he was good at acting. Even Shayera truthfully thought that he got hit by his sister.

Emma's small face darkened with fury and she ran after him, screaming bloody murder. Emma definitely inherited her temper; Shayera couldn't deny that.

The Thanagarian stood frozen in the shower for a moment, watching them go. Then she burst into hysterical laughter, turning back to rinse the shampoo out of her hair.

Her laughter was so loud and buoyant that Rex and Emma crept back to the bathroom door, stopping just outside it and peered in cautiously. The stuffed rabbit was long forgotten behind them in the hallway.

Emma looked at her younger brother. "What's she laughing at?"

Rex shrugged as he replied, "Mommy's gone nuts."

Shayera heard this and burst into new peals of laughter. That parenting book had been right.

_Rule #48 of Motherhood: Everything happens when you're in the shower_. She thought as she laughed, helpless with mirth, all her stress and cares suddenly forgotten.


	4. Hide-and-Seek

John and Shayera made frantic dashes across the room calling their daughter's name.

"Did you look under the couch John?"

"What would she be doing under there?" He asked. "I don't think a one-year-old is smart enough to even think about hiding under a couch."

The Thanagarian threw up her hands in frustration. "I don't know! I can't turn my back for a minute since she began walking."

John got down on his knees and chuckled as he looked under the couch. "Guess who I found."

Emma squealed with delight. She certainly loved this game.


	5. Medbay

**A/N:** Set between _Small Talk_ and _Alien_.

* * *

He was looking at the monitor when a moan caught his attention. He looked down just as Shayera began to slowly open her eyes.

She groaned when she tried to get up."Careful! Don't sit up too quickly." John held her upright as he adjusted the bed to better fit her seated position. Shayera accepted his assistance when he leaned her back against the upraised bed. She groaned again as she fingered the bandage on her hairline.

"What happened? Last I remember I was fighting Killer Frost," Shayera leaned her head back as she groaned in pain again. "My head won't stop throbbing."

"Sinestro took a cheap shot and knocked you out," John said taking a seat besides her on the bed. Shayera placed her hand back down and stared at John. "You split your head open when you hit the concrete."

"How long have I been out?" She asked looking over the room for any clocks or other ways of telling the time.

"Three days with a severe concussion." John reported looking at her concerned. She returned her gaze to him, a frown planted on her face when she noticed his own frown.

"Are you kidding me?" She winced as she put a hand to her head. "Ow."

"You need to relax Shayera. You can't hop into battle with the first bad guy you see. That's why the League expanded because we all need rest." John said, his voice serious. Shayera rolled her eyes and laid her head back.

"Please John, _do not_ lecture me. I'm seriously not in the mood for it. But doesn't this give you a case of deja vu?" John's expression relaxed, a light smile playing around his lips.

"Yeah but if I remember correctly, I was the one in the bed and you were the one playing nurse." Shayera smiled at that.

"And you were trying to convince me that we belonged together," She said as he smirked. "I know, you were right; I was wrong."

* * *

Later on Shayera tried to eat the meal Wally had brought for her from the cafeteria. With her head killing her the way it was, she just simply didn't have an appetite.

She picked at it while laughing at jokes Wally made. It was good to have him around, some of his jokes no one else would understand because well...it was their jokes. Brother-sister jokes.

"Yes I would have loved to see that," She stated as she played with the salad. "Diana must have been livid."

"How are you feeling?" Wally asked. He wasn't gawking over her like a concerned mother hen; that would have annoyed the living stars out of her. No he was seated in the chair next to her bed but staring at her with complete worry.

She liked it this way. If it had been John, he would have been all over the place worrying and babying her around like she was incapable of taking care of herself. Wally however wasn't like John. He understood she would much prefer to do things for herself, even when injured. She couldn't be angry at John for this as he did so because he loved her. Even though it annoyed her, she was grateful for John always being there for her.

"Shay!" Wally called again, she turned her gaze from her meal and looked at him. "How are you feeling?" He asked again.

Shayera sighed. "I've been better. I got one heck of a headache though." What she really wanted was to get out of bed and move around, especially fly.

Wally left awhile later promising to return once he finished eating his dinner, which meant she had plenty of time to herself. Sighing, Shayera got out of bed. Though she found the process a lot harder than she thought it would be. Her body was sore and most likely covered in bruises.

"Shayera, how are you..." John stopped to stare. Shayera stared back.

"Knock John, you never learned to knock." He smiled, walking into the room as the door closed behind him.

"Well you were injured and bedridden; I didn't think it would make a difference. I know your injuries didn't affect your hearing because you were told to stay in bed," When she made an attempt to argue, he raised his hand to stop her.

"I didn't think it would matter because I didn't think you would be up so soon. Also I have already seen you looking a lot worse. Especially with bedhead worse than that." John teased, a smile engulfing his entire face. Shayera however did not look happy. She was angry but the darkening red blush on her face only broadened his smile.


	6. Taste in Movies

"Old Yeller?" She asked with a raised eyebrow.

He shrugged. "Yeah, I thought we could watch a movie. You need a break from all those hours of work."

"You seriously need to stop worrying about me."

"After awhile it's hard work."

"Oh yeah since monitor duty and crowd control is so hard for a pregnant Thanagarian to do," She sarcastically commented. "Anyway you decided that we were going to watch a movie and naturally you picked Old Yeller...again. Great choice John," She stated with a chuckle.

"What's so funny?" He asked smiling.

"After all this time you still have a horrible taste in movies," She laughed. "At least it's not one of those John Wayne movies again."

"Hey!" He mocked a hurt expression. "There's nothing wrong with a good old Wayne movie. Besides you love _She Wore a Yellow Ribbon_."

"Just because I love the movie doesn't mean I want to watch it every day like how you watch your favorite movie."

"I don't watch _Old Yeller_ everyday," He defended himself.

"At least twice a week you do." She countered as she turned towards the shelf. "I bet I can find a better movie."

"You're not going to make us watch _Look Who's Talking_ again or some tear-jerking movie are you? Because you were bawling your eyes out at the end of _WALL·E_ and _Marley and Me_ last week."

Shayera frowned and looked down at the movie she had in her hand.

" _Gone with the Wind_ ," She gave the movie cover an uninterested look. "Never heard of it." She turned the case around and began reading the summary.

"It's actually a great movie. I'm surprised you never saw it before. It's a romance story and I know you love those," John said to her.

"Sounds too sappy for me." Shayera mumbled, starting to place it back on the shelf.

John quickly grabbed her arm. "Believe me you'll love this movie."

"Alright I got nothing better to do." She sat back down on the couch. "It's probably boring though."

"You'll see."

John had his arm around Shayera and she was tucked close to his chest. Though unlike John, Shayera didn't sit quietly during the movie.

"Oh get real Scarlett, Ashley loves Melanie not you!"

John smirked and occasionally chuckled at her outbursts. For over four hours all he heard was the movie and Shayera but mostly Shayera's enthusiastic narration. She was so into the movie that she didn't notice him watching her.

"I hate that she married him. She doesn't deserve him! Melanie is so nice, Scarlett doesn't deserve a friend like her!"

She later glared at John. "You better not make a fool out of yourself when our kid's born like Rhett just did."

When Bonnie died, she was weeping. "Oh come on, that's not fair! She was only a little kid for crying out loud!"

"Oh thank heavens Rhett left her!"

Finally the movie was over. "John that was the greatest movie ever! Why didn't we ever watch this before?"


	7. Emma and Rex

Watching her apply lipstick shouldn't be this interesting but he was really, really bored. Rex stood in the doorway of Emma's room and had plans on bothering her as usual. "Objectifying yourself much Emma?" He asked, a sarcastic smile firmly in place.

"I have a date," She replied, glancing down at a small mirror in her hand and sounding way too preoccupied for his liking.

"Really?" He injected a note of skepticism into his voice as he strolled toward her.

"Don't sound so surprised Rex."

Shrugging he said, "It's just that you hadn't mentioned you were seeing anyone, especially to Mom or Dad."

Leaning against the edge of her desk, he watched her retract the lipstick and stick the cap back on. When he'd decided to come by to bug her, he'd expected to find her nose deep in schoolwork or reading a book, not doing something girly like putting on makeup.

"Do I tell you everything about my personal life?" She sharply asked.

"Actually yeah, usually you do. You trust me more than our parents; you said so yourself."

"Then I must have forgotten to mention it. It's a first date," When she reached for her bag, Rex snatched the tube of lipstick off the desk.

"That's all you go on, first dates," He stated as she frowned. "Do you ever go on second dates?"

"Occasionally yes, now give it back," Emma demanded, swatting his arm. "You are so annoying. You're sixteen-years-old so act like it for once!"

Satisfied now that he had her full attention, he ignored her and turned over the lipstick. "Ooooh, Scarlet Temptation." He snickered and glanced at his sister. "Who comes up with these names?"

"I'm going to be late," She shoved back her chair and stood, grabbing for the lipstick. He danced away from her, holding the treasure over his head. Her shorter stature made it impossible for her to reach. "Could you please stop being childish and give it back?"

He grinned. "Nope! Not until you tell me about the tool of the day."

"What?"

He rolled his eyes, "Who's this guy you're going out with tonight?"

"That's none of your business," She shot back, frowning.

He raised his eyebrows. "Since when?" If it had to do with his sister, it was his business. Simple as that. The sky was blue, the grass was green, and Emma was his business; whether she liked it or not.

"Well it's not as if you tell me about all the girls you date," She made another grab for the lipstick but he palmed it with his other hand and held it behind his back.

"I only dated two girls so far. You had I don't even know how many different guys. Besides it's different," He said with a shrug.

"Oh?" She raised an eyebrow. "How so?"

"For starters, my track record's better than yours. None of the girls I've dated are idiotic jocks, delinquents right out of juvie, or-"

"I'm going to ignore those comments," She said, giving him her snootiest look. "But only because I don't have time to engage in a debate with you right now. I hear about it enough from Mom and Dad."

"Oh so now you don't have time for your brother?" He asked, annoyed by her changing priorities. "You even blow our parents off nowadays."

"Did you need something?" She asked, raising her hands in a questioning gesture. "From where I'm standing, it appears that you're only here to irritate me."

Moving more quickly than he thought she could given that she was wearing heeled shoes, Emma lunged, catching his hand and tried to pry his fingers open. Rex stepped back, pulling her with him. She collided with his chest and he grinned.

Her emerald eyes narrowed as she growled in frustration. "Give it back Rex!"

"No!" Laughing, he yanked his hand free and shoved the lipstick in his right pocket.

Arching an eyebrow, she smirked at him. "You think I wouldn't put my hand in your pocket?"

She'd do it. He didn't doubt that for a second. "I don't know. Would you?" He countered.

With her eyes locked on his, Emma reached toward him. He captured her wrist before she got too close. "Trust me sis," She yanked her wrist free as he handed her the lipstick tube. "You don't need lipstick or any kind of makeup. After all, you got your looks from Mom."


	8. Makeup

Shayera leaned against the door frame of the bathroom, watching as Emma got ready for yet another night out. The sight of her nineteen-year-old daughter burying her real personality under layer upon layer of cosmetics was not one she found all that appealing. But there was a certain fascination in observing the construction of such an elaborate facade, a painted mask that hid the few surviving traces of her little girl.

Emma finished applying her lipstick and turned towards her mother.

"There!" She exclaimed triumphantly. "How do I look?"

It was normally at this point that Shayera would say "fine" or made some other noncommittal remark. Perhaps tonight she was too tired to be diplomatic. Whatever the reason Shayera found herself being brutally honest.

"You're wearing far too much makeup," She said. "And that red lipstick is too vivid. You would look better with a softer color, something less bold."

Emma scowled at the unexpected criticism. When she replied her voice was cold.

"It's supposed to be bold. Makeup should be dramatic, make a statement about you!" Recovering her composure, she replied, "I forgot, you're a _Thanagarian_. You don't understand these things like regular _human_ mothers."

Emma walked past Shayera and to her room, not noticing her mother grit her teeth at the condescending tone and insult.

"I understand you're trying to look older than you are," Shayera retaliated. "And making a fool of yourself because of it! I don't need to be a human to see that Emma!"

"Whatever you say Mom," Was the sarcastic reply she was given. Shayera decided to not say anything back, it would only fuel another argument between them.

Shayera wasn't sure she would have even bothered with cosmetics if she was a human teenager Emma's age. It all seemed rather a nuisance and she had no desire at all to mimic the artificial glamor of her daughter. Still, she recalled having used makeup at least once or twice in her life so she supposed she would have worn some, although hopefully with much more subtlety than Emma did. The word 'restraint' was not one that featured much in her daughter's vocabulary.

"Good night!" Emma called as she began to leave. "You, Dad, and Rex don't have to wait up for me!"

"Why would we bother waiting up?" Shayera responded as she then whispered in a disappointed tone, "You're never back until nearly dawn anyway."

Shayera sighed and tried to not start worrying about what her daughter was doing, or going to do, or torment herself by imagining what always kept her out until the early hours of the morning.

She really preferred not to know.


	9. The Cliff

Watching her fly off was the hardest thing he ever had to do. There was a good chance that he would never see her again.

He didn't have to let her go. He could have called out to her; tried to reason with her to stay. Only problem was that a part of him didn't want her to stay. That part of him couldn't even bare to look at her.

But she did love him, at least he knew that wasn't a lie. That his feelings for her were reciprocated.

He felt a hand lay itself on his shoulder. He turned to see J'onn giving him a small, sympathetic smile.

"I know how it feels to lose a loved one," He replied as the Lantern shrugged off his hand and began walking back to the manor.

John frowned as he brows furrowed, "I didn't lose her."

He knew that someday she would come back. He just didn't knew if his heart would be able to take her back.


	10. Closest Thing to Love

Shayera's eyes fluttered opened as she woke up. A smile tugged on her lips as she stretched her left arm out and stared at the ring on her finger; she had been serious when she said wasn't going to take it off. Last night felt so surreal to her now. She still had that little voice inside her, telling her that she didn't deserve this, any of this but, for the first time in years, she finally ignored it. John loved her and she loved him, that's all she cared about at this point. She was also going to have the one thing she always dreamed of having, a child of her own. Shayera was finally feeling content with her life; something she could never have said while on Thanagar.

She was afraid at first when she believed she was falling in love with John. She feared that it wasn't love and it was just her clinging onto him like she had done with Hro. She also feared that he would use her like Hro had. It was when they had confronted Despero was when she finally realized that she loved him. That and she was initially jealous of Katma when they first met. Honestly she still didn't like the Korugaran, though there was some bad blood between their species to begin with.

Shayera rolled over carefully and watched John sleep for a few moments before returning back to her thoughts. She still didn't understand why humans used rings for engagements, or why it was even called an engagement. It was simpler on Thanagar. There were no marriages, you were simply promised to each other. Though just as a divorce annulled a marriage, a promise could be broken and a lot easier than going through the nasty legal battle of a divorce on Earth. If one got tired with their lover on Thanagar, they would either poison or assassinate them and make it look like an accident.

Once she made Lieutenant, Shayera was close to doing the same with Hro. He had served his purpose yet she couldn't bring herself to kill him. She knew that she, like many other Thanagarians, had some type of attachment disorder which made her cling to Hro in the first place. She fooled herself into loving him.

It was different with John. After awhile she realized that what she felt for Hro wasn't love but what she felt for John was. Hro had been her career stepladder while John was someone who she could be intimate with, both physically and most importantly emotionally. Hro was set on dominating her and having his way with her. She was more of a trophy to him than a lover. She used him to higher her rank in the military and he used her like she was some toy.

Shayera remembered how she would tell herself she loved Hro. That she would give her life for him. If faced with the situation, she would have never given her life for him. But for John, of course she would. It was bad enough that she knew she was going to outlive him as it was and potentially outlive any child they had. The only way he could outlive her was if she was killed in battle. Even Hro was older than her and she would have outlived him. He was more than double, nearly triple, her age. He knew what he was doing when he rung her in and she fell for him like a fool.

She knew she shouldn't but at times she missed Hro. Even if John did understand her military past, Hro understood it better. She had been crushed and heartbroken when she learned of his death, even if she never really meant it when she told him she loved him. But she was thankful because Hro's loss was her gain. He lost her forever and she was given a new life on Earth.

"What we had was the closest thing to love that we could of ever had on Thanagar. I told you I loved you but you never once said you loved me too," Shayera whispered as she cuddled up to John's body. "I found someone that can say they love me too."

Perhaps, if Hro had said those three simple words to her, she would of let the Thanagarians use the Hyperspace Bypass Generator on Earth. Maybe if he had given her some hope that he did love her and she had something to return to, she would have chosen Thanagar over Earth. And maybe, just maybe, if he told and showed her that he loved her, she might have chosen him over John.


	11. Lost

Shayera had never felt so scared and lost in her life. Because of her stupidity, she might have just lost the best thing that had ever happened to her.

Shayera's vision blurred as she stumbled through a forest. It had been two months, three weeks, six days, twenty-three hours, and eight...nine minutes since she flew off the cliff at Wayne Manor. That had been the last time she had contact with civilization, shelter, and a decent meal. Now she was all alone to defend herself, only equipped with her beloved mace.

She paused and gripped a tree to support herself. She honestly didn't know how much longer she could keep this up for. She never felt her body in this much pain before; she no longer even had the energy or desire to fly. The area that hurt the most was where the Nth metal axe had been thrust into her, electrocuting and burning her. She had refused all medical treatment when the seven of them returned to the Batcave. She knew it was very foolish of her as she could have internal damage yet she was ignoring it.

Shayera began walking again, having no idea where she was or headed towards. She had aimlessly walked for days now. She was hoping she was going to find something...anything. She didn't even know what she was looking for anymore. What...who she wanted, she could never have again.

She told him she loved him, turned, and flew away. He made no attempt to stop her. He didn't take a step towards her or even say a word as she left. She knew with her very being that John hated her and she couldn't blame him. She hated herself.

Her shoe caught on a tree root and she fell onto broken branches, rocks, and other tree roots. Shayera grimaced as she began to pick herself up. Her body collapsed back down after she had lifted herself only a few mere inches.

"It doesn't matter anymore," She mumbled to herself. If she died right there, she deserved it. At this point, she gratefully welcomed death. She had nothing to live for; she lost everything she held dear.

A golden light shone throughout the forest and the last thing Shayera remembered before fading out of consciousness was Doctor Fate lifting her up off the ground.


	12. Facing the Older Sister

Emma stared hard into the brown eyes, her gaze hardening. She didn't mind her brother dating, she just didn't like this "blond-bimbo", as she called her, that Rex asked out. It had been quite simple to drag the girl into the girl's locker room at the beginning of the school day. No one was around and it was the perfect place for her lecture.

"Listen, I know you're dating Rex right now but you better be careful with how you treat him. He may be your boyfriend but he is my little brother. You'd do best to remember that. You know what that means, right? That means that if you ever make him cry, if you ever cause him any harm, I will make you regret it dearly. Harm him physically and you will suffer. Harm him emotionally and I will never allow you to forget your blunder."

She leaned in closer as the blond girl squirmed. "You'd better brand this moment into your memory. Treat him as he deserves to be treated. Give him the space he needs when he needs it and never let him feel inferior to you or anybody else. Never cause him to doubt his own opinions. This is a great responsibility and that means that, if you screw up, all the pain of failure will fall onto your shoulders, including the pain of having caused Rex to regret choosing you."

Emma paused as she let the words stink in. "Rex is a true treasure in this world and if you don't treasure him properly, if you cause the fire in his eyes to dim, even for only a second, I will make you pay. That said, I seriously hope you will remember to love him with all your might, understand? Or else you'll find yourself with a permanent limp. Now get!"

The blond squeaked in fear as she ran from the half-Thanagarian. Emma smiled triumphantly to herself. As long as she was around, no one was going to hurt her baby brother.


	13. Just a Cold

**A/N:** Set between _Small Talk_ and _Alien_. This is set before Shayera moved in with John and just after they reconciled. Suffering from a cold so that's my inspiration for this and the next chapter.

* * *

Shayera strolled along the street, trying to keep her eyes focused straight ahead. The people around her were distracting in the very worst of ways. She didn't understand how these people could live their lives while holding such resentment towards others, namely her. Heading to the apartment didn't hold much distraction for her though, considering John wouldn't get off of his monitor shift for another three hours and she would have his place to herself. Sleep was always a welcome reprieve.

She mentally counted the steps as she hopped up them and pulled out her key from her pocket. She was slightly excited that she had actually remembered it. Most days she had to get John to open the door or have Mr. Terrific beam her inside.

When she opened the door she was surprised to see John lying on the couch, watching television.

"Why are you here?" She asked as she slowly closed the door behind her. "I thought you had monitor duty."

"You're the detective; you figure it out." He replied rather curtly. "Besides, last time I checked, I was allowed in my own home."

"Intelligence agent," She corrected him, moving no further into the room. "Well I can see that you're sick, obviously."

"Then why did you ask?" He turned his head to face her.

"Ok what I meant was why did you let me in here? You run the risk of me becoming a carrier of your illness."

"Well I'm sorry, Shayera, if my inner bacteria offends you. And how was I supposed to know to not let you in when I'm sick?"

"That's your issue," She said taking a wide berth around the couch. "Common sense should have told you that."

"It's just a cold," He replied with a sniffle, turning back to the television. "Even if you were to catch it, you wouldn't die."

"Nevertheless," Shayera said crossing her arms. "I have no desire to carry your sickness around and infect others."

"Most people don't," John mumbled.

"I heard that," Shayera said. She took an awkward step closer as if the virus would just spring out of John and attack her.

John slowly turned from the ridiculous talk show and looked over at her. "Why are you staring at me like that?"

"I'm attempting to determine your stage of illness to decide if the best course of action would be for me to just go home to the Metro Tower."

Lantern rolled his eyes, "Well if you really feel like that's the best option, why don't you? We can't have you getting sick, you know." He sarcastically added on. He knew Shayera was not worried of catching whatever he had as her immune system was much more efficient than an average human one. This however didn't mean that she wasn't a bit of a germaphobe.

She raised an eyebrow but did not move from where she was, "You know as well as I do that it is nearly impossible for me to get sick."

"That's not helping me," John said quickly.

"Fine," Shayera moved towards the window and put a finger to her ear. "I'll just ask for help."

John looked at her dubiously, "Are you serious Shayera?"

Shayera ignored him and turned to look at the city below them, contemplating the radius of infection based on the range of John's coughs and used tissue. "Hey Wally, I need some help."

_"What is it? Where are you; want me to come?"_ The Scarlet Speedster replied.

"No you don't have to," Shayera stated as she continued, "John's sick. What do I do?"

It was a few seconds before the commlink buzzed again.

_"Are you serious? Make some coffee or something. Or just give him some NyQuil _and let him sleep it off_." _

With a furrowed brow, Shayera appeared in John's line of vision again. "Do you want coffee or NyQuil? I think I can make coffee. It can't be _that_ hard."

John rubbed his nose with a tissue and wondered what the odds of Shayera unintentionally poisoning the coffee were. He knew she wasn't going to be too helpful by stepping foot in the kitchen. The woman could barely make a peanut butter and jelly sandwich on her own let alone make coffee.

"I don't have any NyQuil but coffee actually sounds pretty good right now, thanks." He said it more warily than he intended. "Just make sure you don't make something that can kill me."

"Right," She rolled her eyes. "Give me a minute."

Shayera went into the kitchen and began searching through the cabinets for coffee. She had absolutely no idea where the coffee actually was. John bent his head over the couch and watched her with an amused grin.

"This may take a little longer than I thought," She called over her shoulder as she bit her bottom lip. "I'm having a little trouble finding this stupid coffee." She then bent over to open the cabinet below the sink and heard a shuffling of steps on the floor next to her.

"Shayera, why on earth would I keep the coffee below the sink? Even your mind must find that odd."

"John," Shayera said sternly as she cast him a light glare. "You're sick. You shouldn't be up and about."

John shook a little container on the counter with a teasing smile. "In the amount of time it would take you to find _this_ , I would be over this cold."

Shayera scowled as she leaned against the sink. "Not my fault you put it someplace stupid."

"You know," John started. "For an intelligence agent, you're a little off your game."

Her scowl only deepened as she muttered, "Oh no."

John was setting the coffeemaker up as he looked over, "What?"

"I must be getting sick." Shayera's hand reached involuntarily to her throat, sending John into a small fit of laughter. It was short lived though as it turned into a hacking cough.

"What would I do without you, Shay?" John mumbled as he pulled a cup from the cabinet and sent it down on the counter.

"Your life would be considerably more boring," She offered with a smirk.

Smiling, John poured himself a cup of the steaming liquid and shuffled back into the living room. Shayera followed at a safe distance.

"Better?" She asked as he took a drink and laid back on the couch.

John nodded and pulled a pillow under his head. Shayera nodded slowly, remembering Wally's advice. She walked back into the kitchen to get herself a cup of coffee. She hoped that the warm liquid would feel good against what she believed to be her worsening throat.

It wasn't long before John was alerted to the sound of Shayera's yelp in the kitchen, theorizing that she burnt her mouth on the coffee. Just before he strained his burning throat to ask if she was alright, he heard the sound of the cup falling and shattering on the ground accompanied by a slew of Thanagarian curses. Sighing heavily, John pulled the pillow over his face in an attempt to filter out some of the dissonance. _Baby steps,_ he thought, _baby steps._


	14. Freezer

**A/N:** Set after _Alien_. As stated beforehand, still suffering from a cold and was doing this so that was the inspiration for this chapter. 103 degree fever and loving it!

* * *

He came in to find his wife leaning against the refrigerator, with her head resting inside the freezer. Curious, he walked towards her, only to receive no response.

Tentatively he said, "Shayera?"

Her eyes fluttered open at that, although instead of the usually their usually bright green, they were now dull and glassy.

"John?" She murmured. "Sorry, I couldn't hear you, the freezer makes this humming sound inside of it."

"Why is your head in the freezer?"

"It's hot," She whined.

This confused him, seeing as it couldn't have been more than seventy degrees in the apartment. He reached out a hand and gently laid it on her forehead, checking for a temperature and noticed when she shivered against his touch.

"You're really hot."

Shayera smirked. "Thanks but you told me that last night."

He frowned. "I mean you're literally burning up. You're sick." Shayera's temperature was naturally lower than a human's as it was. Adding a high grade fever to it didn't help eradicate John's concern.

"I know, I caught a cold from the kids. And here I thought I couldn't get sick." She replied sleepily, her eyes closed once again. "I've never been sick before; it's not fair."

"You're not invincible," John commented. "You should at least go and lay down for awhile."

"I can't. When Emma and Rex get home later I have to be up."

John scoffed at that, considering she wasn't going to be much help with a fever or her head in a freezer. Sometimes she was just too stubborn.

"Come on sunshine let's get you in bed," He told her, trying to gently remove her away from the freezer.

"No," She mumbled.

"Shayera, this is ridiculous, you're sick and need to rest."

"I'm fine," She mumbled, turning her head so she was further inside the chill of the freezer. "It's just a stupid cold."

"Ok," He muttered. "We'll just have to do this the hard way."

Carefully placing an arm under her legs he scooped her up bridal style, only to have her gasp in reply.

"John it's cold!" She protested.

"Cold?" He cocked an eyebrow as he looked down at her, giving her a confounded look. "I thought you were hot?"

"That was before you took me out of the freezer," She snapped.

He shook his head, she was _definitely_ sick. John made his way to their bedroom and slowly placed her on the bed before wrapping the blankets around her. Once again he felt her forehead, startled at the sudden rise in temperature.

"I'm going to go get you some ibuprofen or whatever we have. Your temperature's rising," He stated, beginning to go to head towards the bathroom until her groggy voice called after him.

"No, don't bother. It doesn't work on me. My metabolism breaks down any Earth medication before it gets a chance to work."

John sighed. She was right. Even pain medication didn't work on her. This was painfully discovered during childbirth, when John literally ended up with a broken hand as a result.

"John, please don't leave me," Shayera practically begged.

"I wasn't even planning on it."

"Lay down with me, please?"

John climbed into the bed. She snuggled up to him and he wrapped his arms around her. "I'm right here babe and I'm not going anywhere."

"Promise?"

He lightly smiled as he kissed her forehead, "Promise."


	15. Thunder and Comfort

Shayera was fast asleep until a noise woke her up. She looked around the room, groggily, trying to see if anything was out of place. Nothing, besides the sounds of the thunderstorm and downpour outside, so she laid her head back down and closed her eyes. The sound came again a few seconds later and she realized it was a muffled sound coming from Rex's room.

She looked to her side at the lump lying there. He hadn't stirred a single bit. Shayera sighed and pushed back the covers and got out of bed. Slowly, she made her way to her son's bedroom. Vaguely, she heard a muffled sob come from inside.

"Rex?" She called softly as she entered the room and quickly scanned around.

She saw her small, five-year-old son cowering under his covers, shaking and crying. He peeked his head out and looked at her with wide, emerald eyes. _Of course_ , Shayera thought. _He's always been afraid of the thunder and lightning._

She sat down next to him on the bed and immediately wrapped her arms around his small body and pulled him close to her. She could feel his tears soaking into her shirt and the shaking of his limbs as he wrapped his small fingers around her own.

She stroked his hair gently. "Shhh, Rex, it's ok."

"Mommy," He moaned softly.

"Mommy's right here," She told him.

He continued shaking. She bent down and kissed the top of his head and he grabbed her wrist with his tiny hand. Another loud clap of thunder sounded and he cried harder, hiccuping and snuffling. Shayera was hardly able to make it out when he whimpered, "Don't go."

She hadn't planned on leaving.

Shayera pulled him onto her lap and rubbed his back as he coughed and sputtered, unable to breath because of the tears that were clogging his throat. "Calm down honey, I won't let anything happen to you."

He coughed and nodded a little. He settled down somewhat, his tears slowing to a trickle as he relaxed slightly in her arms. Shayera gently brushed the tears off of his cheeks. She ran her hand through his hair and ruffled it slightly.

There was rumble of thunder and a flash of lightning and he whimpered, starting to cry again. Shayera wiped the corners of his eyes just as the tears came out. "Don't cry Rex, it's just noise and light. It can't hurt you."

"Why is it so loud Mommy?" He whispered as he sniffled.

"I don't know sweetie," She said to him quietly. "But I do know that you'll be okay."

"I will?" He asked hesitantly, looking up her, his eyes glassy with tears.

"Yes Rex," She said softly, running her hand up and down his side soothingly. "You'll be just fine."

"But it's loud and scary outside," The young boy replied.

"I know honey," She gently rested her hand on the side of his face, keeping him close to her chest. "But it'll be ok. I promise."

"It'll be ok," He quietly repeated, yawning. Moments later, Shayera looked down at him. Rex had fallen asleep in her arms. She smiled softly to herself, looking down at his sleeping form. He was just so adorable.

She sat with him breathing quietly as he slept. Shayera knew it would be impossible to pry him off of her without waking him. So she shifted him gently and rested her back against the headboard of the bed. She gently smoothed his hair out of his face and kissed the top of his head.

Shayera knew she would have cramps in her wings and back in the morning but, if she was able to comfort her son, it was more than worth it.


	16. Trapped

**A/N** **:** Set between Destroyer and _Small Talk_.

* * *

_Of course, the one time I'm actually allowed on a solo mission, I get trapped in some dingy cave. Wonderful_ , Shayera thought angrily as she tried to pry a boulder from the blockade that prevented her from leaving the cave.

She had gone on a solo League mission to check on a disturbance call from the planet Tamaran in the Vega system. According to the Tamaraneans there was an ongoing feud between the Citadelians and Karnans. Their claim was some of the fighters may have moved onto their turf. The Tamaraneans were threatening to counter with military action if the situation wasn't dealt with immediately. So it was up to Shayera, who thought of it laughable, to play diplomat and try to not let the warring races kill each other or any Tamaraneans while also keeping the Tamaraneans from declaring all out war. The Tamaraneans were not helpful at all in that aspect, especially since they saw their help was a Thanagarian, a species they viewed less than filth. They seemed more than willing to just go to war than try to see reason.

In Shayera's perspective it should have been John or some other Green Lantern dealing with this, as they were in all essence an intergalactic police force but no; the Guardians didn't want to get in the middle of a war, especially since the Vega system was generally off limits for most Green Lanterns. This meant that Shayera had to go on her own, despite her protests. She knew the Vega system was home to the Gordanians, who worked for the Citadel, and she had no desire to run into any.

Even with an overwhelming protest in the Tamaranean council, she was the one in charge as she held the meetings and kept the Tamaraneans from killing everyone. The past four days had not been easy on her nerves and her patience had been repeatedly tested.

Shayera had agreed to take a survey of the area to determine if any Citadelians or Karnans had moved their fighting to Tamaran. And of course there had been a cave-in when she had checked for any signs of a shelter or a pseudo-command post. She had been close to the exit, ready to leave the blasted cave. It was then she heard a loud booming noise and the entire cave had shook and rocks had tumbled down from the ceiling, encasing her in a space about two feet wide on all sides. It was a miracle that she hadn't been crushed.

Unfortunately the small space meant that she couldn't move around. If she had more room she would have taken a swing at the rocks with her mace yet it was buried beneath the rubble with only the end of the handle sticking out and it was impossible to even dislodge it.

Just as equally unfortunate, the small dark space was getting to her.

It wasn't that she was going to admit she was claustrophobic, it was just that small spaces made her feel cramped and very uncomfortable. Particularly small underground spaces. They smelled of dirt, the air was stale, and, invariably, dust found its way into her lungs. The only other time she could remember being trapped underground was when she got lost in cave on Karna, the Gordanians' home world.

That part of her was currently trying not to panic. Even then it was different. For one thing there was light. For another she was just lost, meaning there was a lot more room. Here she was trapped in a space barely big enough to be considered a closet.

To top it off Shayera wasn't in a very comfortable position. The cave ceiling was low and she was forced to half crouch, squishing her wings against her back and rocks. She was trying to pry out rocks from the walls but she was failing miserably. She couldn't stand up all the way, she couldn't sit down all the way due to the rocks that littered the small two feet by two feet space, she wasn't sure if her commlink was getting through to the Watchtower because all she heard was static, her foot was caught between two rocks, she thought she might have broken her ankle, and she was sure she had been stuck in there for over eight hours.

Yeah...not pleasant at all.

She was tired, she was hungry, and she could swear she could smell the fresh air outside. Torture, she decided, pure torture. A part of her almost wished that John was there but the rest of her smashed that notion into bits before it was there very long. She didn't know if she could face him just yet, not right after Mari left him, and especially since they really weren't on speaking terms with each other after he told her about seeing Rex Stewart and deciding to stay with Mari.

Besides, it wasn't as if people weren't trying to dig her out. She could hear them; some people were on the other side trying to move away the rocks. However the rocks were big and heavy. She then paused, Tamaraneans shouldn't have a problem with that. What was taking them so damn long? It was a bit of a problem since she now recognized the voices and realized it wasn't Tamaraneans out there. She now knew that her distress call must have gone through as a few Justice League members were out there helping, mostly because she could hear them arguing with each other at the top of their lungs.

"I got dirt on my clothes!" That was Stargirl, definitely.

"Dirt?!" That voice had to be Atom Smasher. "Hawkgirl is stuck in a rockslide and you're worried about _dirt?_ "

"Not really, I'm just saying-"

"Well don't!" He sounded the most aggravated out of the two.

"We're right next to each other Al! You don't need to yell!"

"You're the one yelling Court!" He retorted.

"What is going on here?" Shayera gasped then winced as her ankle let out a protesting throb. That voice...it _couldn't_ be.

"Oh hey GL!" Courtney sounded very surprised and like she knew she was in trouble.

Just her stinking luck, John Stewart. Despite the fact that Shayera wasn't sure she could face him no more than five minutes ago, she was now filled with a definite longing, combined with a nearly uncontrollable panic and another flash of pain from her injured ankle. Being trapped alone in the dark, in a small, enclosed space...she **needed** him. Her logical side, the side of her that refused steadfast to this reaction, was trampled over by her emotional side.

She opened her mouth to call out, breathed in, and immediately inhaled a large amount of dust. Shayera began to cough, her throat sore from lack of water and disuse for over eight hours. Through her coughs, she heard Stargirl and Atom Smasher, who had been taking turns, in other words, interrupting each other and talking over the other to explain what was going on, fall silent.

"Shayera?" She heard John call through the stone. "Are you all right?"

"My foot," Shayera replied, a note of panic seeping through her normally calm voice. She mentally slapped herself for that and continued, "It's stuck. I think my ankle's broken."

"Anything else?"

"Other than being buried alive under tons of rocks, muscle cramps, and a lungful of dust?" She asked. "Not really." _Except for the panic,_ she thought wryly. She had amazed herself that she had lasted so long in such a small space to begin with. She was sure she was going to have a heart attack at one point or another.

There was hesitation from the other side.

"All right," His voice held a hint, just a hint of knowing, meant for her and her alone. He knew about her panic, especially since she was in a small confined space. When he spoke again, it was without that hint. "The stones are nearly cleared away. You'll be out of there soon."

That lifted her spirits but only a bit. After all she was still trapped in the cave and her ankle was throbbing again. As the rocks shifted they dislodged dust, forcing Shayera to place a slightly bruised hand over her mouth so that she wouldn't have a repeat coughing fit. When it was clear that the dust wasn't going to settle, she removed her hand and pushed as hard as she could against the stone.

Her fingers were not met with stone but greeted by a gloved hand. She drew her hand away quickly. A green object wrapped around the last of the rocks and brought them away with a thud. The rest of the rocks, without those ones to hold them up, tumbled to the ground, kicking up a great cloud of dust. Shayera closed her eyes and tried not to breathe in.

The pressure on her ankle faltered and then it was taken away entirely. Shayera felt unsteady; her knees that she had been forced to kneel on gave out on her and she collapsed. A pair of arms caught her before she hit the ground.

"Are you all right?" John asked her softly.

Without once opening her eyes, she slid her arms around him and leaned into him. "That's a stupid question," She murmured, faint with relief and exhaustion.

"C'mon kid," She heard Atom Smasher say. "Let's go."

This was obviously meant for Courtney, because a moment later Shayera heard an indignant, "What?" coming from the younger hero. Shayera opened her eyes and she and John turned to look at the duo.

"We have some things to talk about. Mostly how to respect authority," Al informed her tartly. "Let's go." And with that, the older hero wrapped his hand around her wrist tightly and dragged the younger hero behind him in the direction of the Javelin, with many complaints on Courtney's part.

"It never ceases to amaze me how people can both hate and love each other at the same time," John commented after a moment.

"That reminds me of a few other people," Shayera said lightly. "Us for one."

"Can I respectfully decline an opinion on that?"

"If you help me up, get my mace out of the rubble, and get me some medical treatment for my ankle."

"That I can do," He helped her to her feet and then gave her a look. Despite his words before, she knew what he was going to say, and she also knew that it was her fault for bringing it up. "So was that a reference to the past?"

"Perhaps," Shayera answered carefully. When the look did not change, she sighed. "I don't know if I can do this yet John. I honestly don't know."

"Then I'll just shut up about it and simply enjoy your presence in the mean time."

Shayera rolled her eyes but smiled slightly, nodded, and limped with him to the Javelin. When John snaked his arm around her waist for support, she did not protest. Nor was she able to fully hide the faint blush that tinted her cheeks at his touch.


	17. Cravings

**A/N** : I had this sitting around and decided to finish and post it. Set between _Alien_ Chapter 27 and the Epilogue. I'm trying to get a Christmas chapter done for either Monday or Tuesday. I have to bake for the holidays and have to work the weekend so I don't know if I'll get it done on time. I'm hoping I will.

* * *

"I swear Shayera, you have the nastiest cravings I have ever heard of. Are you eating that straight out of the jar?" John asked, laughing as his wife dug her finger around the jar of mayonnaise. She was sitting on top of the kitchen counter and literally moaned in satisfaction with the next finger full.

"But it's so good John. I'm entirely grossed out because I know it shouldn't be and I'm going to gain a million pounds from this but I swear this is the best thing I've ever tasted right this second," She told him, moving her left leg so she could open the drawer beneath her to find a spoon. "I could eat this entire jar. How disgusting is that?"

He shook his head, amused and disgusted at the same time, and opened the refrigerator. "Shayera where's all the...never mind. I guess I'm going to have to go food shopping."

She looked up at him innocently, the spoon stuck between her lips. "You don't have to go alone. I can go with you. I'm the one eating everything. Besides, you won't buy half of the things I'll probably want anyway."

"Which is probably a good thing. You can't buy the entire inventory," He pointed out, closing the fridge with a bottle of water in his hand.

She shrugged, scarfing down another spoonful of mayo. "You're going to be the one making the midnight runs then," She said with a playful grin. "If that's how you want to do it."

He rolled his eyes, smiling over at her. "Shay?"

"Hm?" she answered, scraping the sides of the jar.

"Would you like a turkey sandwich with that mayonnaise?" He asked, trying not to laugh at her.

She shook her head, "The sad thing is that I don't want anything with this. It's fantastic."

Shayera snickered at the disgusted look on her husband's face, "You're so gross."

"I can't help it! It's the pregnancy, I swear," She insisted as she ate another spoonful. "I don't even normally eat mayonnaise."

He laughed quietly as he mumbled, "Apparently."

She looked up from the jar to see him slip his power ring on and frowned. "You're leaving? I thought you had the day off."

"I had to switch monitor duty shifts with Green Arrow. Then I'm going to get food since you devoured it all. I won't be that long," He promised, smirking. "Unless you call me a million times with different things to pick up from the store."

She smirked as he moved to walk past her. "Ah ah ah," She mused, hopping off the counter and walking in front of him. "You don't think you're getting out of here without a kiss."

He grimaced, trying to hide a smile. "Right now, I'd like to."

She shook her head. "If you love me, John, you'll kiss me and like it."

"I like it when it isn't flavored like mayonnaise Shay," He told her, smiling as he put a hand behind her neck and kissed the top of her head. "There."

She grabbed his arm as he made another attempt to move past her. "Nope, that's not gonna work."

He sighed, looking up at the ceiling. "Shayera."

"Kiss me."

"I'm not going to kiss you."

"Kiss me or you're not leaving."

"Shay."

She smiled at him playfully and ate another bite of mayonnaise. "Kiss me now."

"No," He laughed. "That's gross."

"So?"

He nodded slowly, running a hand through her hair and pressing his forehead against hers. She smiled triumphantly, sure she had won until he ducked his head and kissed her cheek. "So go brush your teeth," He reiterated, moving her out of his way gently. "I'll see you later."

"Fine but I'm going on eBay and spending all your money on baby clothes," She called after him, her voice whiny. He knew she was joking.

"I'm sure you are Shay," He replied.

"Mmmhmm we'll see. Oh hey for real though," She said as she capped the jar and put it away. "Can you pick up some more of that Oreo fudge cake stuff? I have a feeling I'm going to want that later. Oh and chocolate chip cookies, I want those too."

"Anything is better than mayonnaise."

"So you'll get it?" She asked, leaning against the door frame and hooking her thumb into her sweatpants.

He looked over at her and smiled again. Even in a pair of old sweatpants and a tank top with her amber hair unbrushed and messy, she was still absolutely gorgeous to him. Maybe even more so now that is was noticeable that she was pregnant. He walked over to her and rested his hands on her hips, "I'll get it," He promised. "I have to go. I'll see you later."

"Alright," She smiled. "I love you."

He kissed the top of her head again, "I love you too."


	18. Christmas in Paradise

"Is he awake?" A little voice asked hopefully.

John had been sleeping blissfully until about five minutes ago his son and daughter had decided to make their entrance into the bedroom. They had one goal: wake up their parents in order to open Christmas gifts. So for the last five minutes he had been subjected to the little hands of his seven-and-a-half-year-old daughter, Emma, poking and prodding every inch of available skin not covered by the blanket and his six-year-old son, Rex, questioning Emma's every attempt to wake him. He was used to this. Ever since Emma was old enough to understand that Christmas meant presents, she had no belief in sleeping past 7 a.m. on Christmas mornings. This was quickly passed onto Rex.

"I don't know. He hasn't moved though," Emma answered in a whisper to her brother. "Let me try this."

John internally cringed and sure enough he felt two little fingers at his eyelids trying to pry them open. This was always Emma's last resort. If she failed to wake him up after the eye prying they would move on to their mother and go through the whole routine with her. John just hoped that Shayera had the idea to catch a few more hours of sleep and would be able to fend off the attack. The problem was that they goaded each other on. If both efforts were fruitless the kids would return to their rooms for at least another hour before trying again.

"What about Mommy?" Rex suggested as he watched his sister's failing attempt.

With that statement John heard two sets of feet shuffle their way around the foot of the bed to come to a stop in front of their mother.

"Is she awake?" Rex asked.

When John knew that all of their attention was focused on her, he silently turned over and peered at the display with half opened eyes. Shayera was lying on her side facing him with her eyes open and a grin stretched from ear to ear.

"She keeps poking my back," She mumbled.

"Do you want them to know we're awake?" He mumbled back.

"Might as well. You know they aren't going to let us sleep. It's Christmas after all."

After her response John raised his head over her to look at the two kids standing on the other side.

Rex was the first one to notice, "Daddy's up." He clambered on to the bed, over his mother much to her discomfort, and landed directly between John and Shayera. "So is Mommy."

Not the one to be left out, Emma soon enough made her home between her parents, wedging them farther apart.

"Can we open presents? Please, please, please, please?" Rex pleaded with his hands clasped together.

John sighed, "In a minute Rex, let us wake up first."

"But Dad, you and Mom _are_ awake," Emma corrected him as she came into view from over her brother's shoulder.

"That's not what I meant princess. Why don't you and Rex go on ahead to the kitchen? We'll be there in a minute, have breakfast, and then you can open presents."

"Well hurry Dad and you too Mom," Emma demanded as she and Rex climbed off the bed.

"Yes my little drill sergeant," Shayera saluted her as she walked out the door. "I can't believe how bossy she is sometimes."

"She takes after her mother," She swatted his arm as he chuckled. "I seriously thought they would never leave," John stated as his hand was trailing up her side.

"John," Shayera sighed. "You know we don't have time for that. If we're not out there in thirty seconds they'll be back. But, if you're good, I'll see what I can do for you later," She leaned over and gave him a soft kiss on the lips before rolling over and making her way out of the bed.

"I'm holding you to that," He replied as he rolled over onto his back, placing his hands behind his head.

"What are you looking at?" Shayera grinned as she caught him staring.

"Just some unbelievable beautiful woman. That's all." His eyes never left her body and she didn't fail to notice.

"I'm wearing flannel. How do you find that the least bit attractive?" Shayera asked as she chuckled. "You're crazy."

"It's because I know what's underneath it," He shrugged his shoulders nonchalantly and climbed out of the bed. On his way past her, he gave her a slow kiss and made a beeline out the room and to the bathroom to get there before she did. Shayera laughed at his antics. Every morning he practically ran to the bathroom to get there before she did, claiming she took too long and that he didn't want to wait.

"Mommy, when are you and Daddy gonna be ready?" Rex asked as she walked out of the bedroom.

"In just a few minutes Rex. I promise sweetie," She stated as she ruffled his hair.

"Ok," The boy sighed.

Shayera walked in the bathroom and leaned against the sink as John brushed his teeth, "We are being summoned. Pick up the pace Lantern."

"I'm done, it's all yours," He stated as he left.

Upon arrival into the kitchen he was met with two arms wrapping their way around his legs and the voice of her daughter demanding to be picked up. He lifted her into his arms and gave her a kiss on the cheek. He couldn't believe how much Emma favored Shayera. Her emerald eyes could make him melt just like her mother's. She was a mini-Shayera all the way.

"What do you guys want for breakfast?" John asked just as Shayera made her way out of the bathroom. As she passed him she skimmed her hand across his back and gave him a wink.

"Something quick like cereal or Pop-Tarts!" Rex piped up from his place at the table as John lowered Emma onto her chair.

"Coming right up," John replied as walked into kitchen. He then wrapped his arms around Shayera's waist, pulling her close and whispering in her ear, "You didn't give me what I wanted for breakfast."

"John behave!" She playfully elbowed him

"Pop-Tarts or cereal?" He asked her.

"Give them cereal, it has less sugar," She replied. "We don't need them even more hyped up."

John handed her the bowls of cereal. "Don't drop them and make a mess."

"I'm not that klutzy." Shayera rolled her eyes. "Here you go guys." She announced, setting the children's bowls in front of them before taking her place at the table.

"Slow down you two, the presents aren't going anywhere," John declared as he watched the kids shovel bite after bite into their mouths.

"All done!" Rex set his spoon down and looked at John and Shayera. "Hurry up!"

"Yeah hurry, I'm done too!" Emma practically shouted before running toward the presents.

"I guess we're not going to be able to eat yet," Shayera said to John before they followed the kids.

Upon entry to the living room they found both kids plowing through the presents trying to identify theirs. This was an expected occurrence to Shayera and she couldn't help but grin. "Emma, Rex take it easy. Have a seat so you can open the presents." Both Emma and Rex sat down and looked at her and John impatiently waiting for a gift to open.

* * *

After almost forty minutes of opening gifts both kids were happily playing with newly acquired toys. John and Shayera were surrounded by a massive pile of wrapping paper while they sat on the couch and watched the kids.

"I love you," Shayera avowed. She lifted her head from his shoulder and gave him a kiss before returning her head to its previous place.

"Not as much as I love you," John felt his arms tighten around her waist as he leaned in to kiss her.

"Mommy, Daddy look at this!" Rex shouted as he shoved his way between them, breaking them out of their moment.

* * *

"Today was tiring," Shayera stated as she slid her way into bed and over to John nuzzling her head into his neck.

"Not too tired to give me my gift I hope," John teased as he kissed her collarbone.

"I'm never too tired for that," She answered before rolling on top of him.

"I'm glad to hear that. I have been waiting all day to do this," His hands found their way to her waist and he rolled them over so he was on top.

"Be careful with my wings John," She quietly scolded him.

A knock on the door halted all progress and John sighed before lowering his head so his forehead rested on Shayera's. "Well Shay, so much for that." Shayera laughed as she ran a hand up his arm sympathetically.

"Mommy, Daddy?" Rex called outside their door. "I heard a monster under my bed. Can I sleep with you?"

"Of course you can Rex," Shayera called out as John rolled off of her and onto his back.

The door opened and Rex ran immediately to Shayera so she could lift him onto the bed. As he made himself comfortable in between them, John looked at Shayera, "Maybe we can finish what we started tomorrow."

"Maybe," A grin stretched across Shayera's face as she hugged Rex closer to her. "But I'm not complaining."

It was just another Christmas in paradise and there wasn't any other place they would rather be.

* * *

**A/N:** I don't know but I felt like writing some fluff. At first I was going to write something a bit depressing but I didn't want to ruin the Christmas spirit. I also sorta tried for a record and wrote this in approximately one hour and thirty-nine minutes. Any mistakes or "sucky-ness" is my fault and I readily take the blame.  
Well anyway, Merry Christmas and Happy New Years everyone! :)


	19. A Change in Fate

"You know," Shayera murmured, her voice filled with a bit of humor as her lips quirked slightly, "I have no clue what I'm doing."

Her breathing was calm, face the color like her mother's. Tiny hands curled instinctively to her chest as she gazed up at her with deep emerald eyes, dark lashes barely ghosting her soft cheeks as she blinked. The newborn was still trying to get a grasp on the new world that surrounded her.

Shayera could hear voices coming from outside, the other founding members were still waiting for the time when they would be able to see the baby. J'onn, after the delivery, had gone to tell them that she and John were now the proud parents of a beautiful little girl. The Martian though had told the visitors to allow the couple a bit of rest before bombarding them with questions and fighting to get to hold the new little bundle. Also he had to tend to the Green Lantern's newly broken hand.

Shayera clearly heard Wally crack a joke that was followed by the sound of Diana reprimanding him for what had been said. Clark laughed nervously at the joke his friend had made while Bruce responded with a statement dripping with sarcasm. Her tired eyes returned to the precious bundle she cradled in her arms. The newborn had now begun to bunch one tiny hand into a fist and swing it in a somewhat slow punching motion. She chuckled quietly as she gently patted the fist with her hand.

"Maybe you will get lucky and I'll be able to figure this all out somehow," The baby's eyes briefly met hers again, tiny fingers curling around one of hers. The comparison in size nearly made Shayera tear up from how fragile this tiny being truly was. "At least you have your father; he'll know what he's doing more than me. I guarantee, he's the best one you could ask for. He's been so excited for your arrival. I do have a small complaint about you though. You caused me quite a few issues."

It was true. Shayera had been warned that, since it was her first pregnancy, it was sure to be no walk in the park. The Thanagarian had particular trouble with morning sickness for the first five months. The symptom turned out not to be limited to only the early hours of day either. Quite a few times the poor, expectant mother had woken up in the middle of the night sick and falling asleep the next night feeling the same way.

But even after that and the excruciating pain of childbirth, she didn't regret a thing. The love had been written plainly across her face as she gazed into her daughter's eyes for the very first time, the color so much like her own.

"I was awaiting your arrival too," Her voice was quiet as she watched the baby amusedly as she attempted to stick Shayera's finger in her mouth curiously. "Though I'm kinda scared of you to tell the truth, I can't help but be excited at the same time."

Her daughter snuggled deeper in her arms. The lights in the medbay seemed brighter than usual. Perhaps it was just Shayera's new perspective on life. It seemed like everything had become brighter in the past fifteen minutes.

"You want to know something funny?" Shayera didn't expect a response so, when the baby girl looked up at her curiously as she then yawned, she continued on, "I'm supposedly one of the most powerful people on this planet. I have defeated countless numbers of super-powered freaks, been faced with a number of intergalactic invasions on this planet, and jumped onto the battle field during war without hesitation on my home world but the prospect of being a mother makes me terrified and worried to no end."

She had expressed some of her worries with John, who had in turn, rolled his eyes at her silly fears of accidentally dropping their child because she wasn't holding her correctly, or hugging her too hard and accidentally breaking her. He had reassured her that she would be a perfect mother.

But that didn't quell her fears.

"We'll figure this all out together," Shayera murmured as she yawned. The Thanagarian took a moment to tenderly stroke the back of her finger against the soft cheek of her daughter. She looked so much like her and that terrified her even more.

Inside the doorway to the room John stood watching her, leaning his back on the door-frame. She didn't know he was watching her and he liked it that way. Hearing Shayera like this was much more comforting to John than hearing her agonized screams from just little over twenty minutes prior. He simply stood there, just watching as mother and daughter shared a moment, both taking the other in. It was an unforgettable sight.

"You're a natural," Shayera's eyes widened a bit as she ceased her stroking and turned to face her husband. She wore a content smile that warmed his heart. It didn't matter that her amber hair was in a sweaty tangle or her face was lined with fatigue after childbirth, she was still beautiful to him.

John returned her smile, walking over to the side of the bed and gently sat on the edge of the mattress, careful not to jostle his surely sore wife, "You should be asleep."

"I wanted to bond with her first before I conked out," John could see there were faint circles under her eyes as she fought to stay awake. "It's still so strange."

"That she's ours and we defied destiny by not having Rex?"

"No," Shayera shook her head as she yawned. "I can believe that. It's just so strange that she's finally here. I was the one that had to carry her for eleven months. I sometimes thought I would stay pregnant forever honestly. It just seemed to drag on. Though giving birth isn't exactly on my top favorite things to do."

The Green Lantern's gaze turned sympathetic as his wife's emerald eyes looked up to meet his glowing ones, "I'm sorry. If I could have taken all that pain away from you, I would have. Even if it meant having to go through it all myself."

"I know you would have," Shayera gave him a soft smile. "Besides, I put you through enough pain and trouble today. How's your hand?"

"It'll heal. Thankfully you didn't break the hand I normally wear my power ring on. It would have been a pain if I had to use my other hand."

"I'm sorry."

"It's ok Shayera. Like I said before it'll heal." He had been an extremely good sport, putting up with Shayera's screams, curses, and abuse without a word of complaint. As if reading her mind, John said, "Babe, this isn't the first time you cursed me out."

"But I said horrible things," She protested.

"You were cursing and speaking in Thanagarian most of the time so I didn't understand a word you said anyway," He casually stated with a shrug.

"Well I'm still sorry," She murmured. "I should have controlled myself better. You can't even hold your own daughter because _I_ had to break your hand like an idiot."

"Shay, it's ok. I know you didn't mean it," John said. "You were in pain and pain does weird things to people."

"But," She began to protest but fell silent after she saw the look on his face. "Alright fine, I'll let it go _for now_."

"Do you want to invite everyone in now?"

The new mother nodded, her smile growing, "I almost forgot that everyone hasn't met her yet. Sure let's get it over with so that I can finally sleep."

Pulling himself from the room, John made his way to where the other founders were waiting for him. The four had now become quiet, having heard the electronic hiss of the door open down the hall.

Clark immediately stood from his place beside Diana and Bruce on the couch, "How is she?"

"She's awake for now. She wanted me to come get everyone before she falls asleep," John said to the group as Wally quickly stood. The young speedster looked particularly worried.

Diana and Bruce stood now as well. Bruce, though face emotionless, voiced what everyone else was thinking, "Let's just meet this kid already."

The visitors all let themselves into the room, each hesitating slightly but becoming curious as their gazes met the sight of Shayera cradling her newborn daughter proudly.

Wally, though not normally much of a worrier, was the first to walk over to her side. Uncharacteristically affectionate, he placed a brief kiss on the crown of her head.

"Are you okay Shayera?" He asked as he nervously fidgeted. "I mean...you know...the pain's gone right?"

Shayera laughed softly at his hesitant words, knowing full well that childbirth wasn't one of his favorite things to discuss, "I'm fine Wally, really I am."

Clark looked down at the bundle she cradled, "So this is her?"

Bruce snorted from his spot behind him as he muttered, "I don't see any other newborns in the room."

"She's beautiful Shayera," Diana commented as she nudged Bruce.

"Yeah real cute," He stated deadpan as the Amazon sighed.

John rolled his eyes, "That's probably the best reaction we'll be able to get out of him."

Wally cocked his head to the side in curiosity, reaching a tentative hand out to softly poke the child's hand. "She's so squishy." Out of pure protective instinct Shayera quickly swatted away his hand and the new parents glared at him. "What?"

John looked very unamused, "That's the first thing you're going to say about your niece, that she's squishy?"

"Hey she needs to know that, from this moment on, her Uncle Wally always speaks his mind."

John quietly spoke to his daughter, "First rule then, ignore your Uncle Wally. It'll make your life a whole lot easier."

Bruce raised his eyebrows, "I'm sure she would have picked up that knowledge sooner or later."

Diana, wanting to avoid having to listen to a battle of wit, cut in quickly, "Have you decided on a name yet?"

Shayera's lips upturned into a soft smile, a gleam in her eyes appearing, "Yeah I did."

" _You_ did?" Clark asked as he looked surprised.

Shayera looked slightly offended by this. "I can easily handle naming my daughter. Besides John already had a name picked out if it was a boy," Shayera stated as John and Bruce glanced at each other. "So naturally I got to decide if it was a girl. And don't worry, I wasn't even remotely planning on naming her anything Thanagarian."

Wally looked at John, "So what's her name?"

He shrugged, "She wouldn't even tell me."

Shayera's face turned up to meet the gaze of her husband, a smile evident on her features, "That's because I used my twisted logic to decide. I read through those books you gave me Wally that had all of the names. I went for the meanings of the names and one of the meanings of her name was universal."

"So how did you decide to name her something that meant universal?" Clark asked.

"Because the first thing I thought of was the universe and how it took two beings from opposite ends of the universe to come together to create her. Once again this is my twisted logic that thought of this connection," She stated with a shrug. "It also means whole or complete and I'm sure that's obvious."

"That she completes your life and makes you feel whole inside?" Diana asked.

"Yeah that pretty much sums it up," Shayera said.

"That's not twisted in the least," John said to her. "Your reasoning makes sense and it's sweet Shay."

"Are you going to tell us her name?" Bruce asked.

"Emma," Shayera stated softly. "Her name's Emma Rachel Stewart."

"How did you come up with Rachel as her middle name?" Wally asked.

Shayera looked over at Bruce and the two smirked. She turned back to Wally, "She's a friend that helped me out."

After awhile Shayera gently, and somewhat reluctantly, passed the bundle into Wally's arms. The baby squirmed a bit to find a more comfortable position as she was exchanged between the two.

"So," Wally casually began as he held his niece awkwardly in his arms, "Are we taking bets on who Emma is going to take after yet or is it to soon to bring that up? Cause my bet is totally on Shayera."

"Wally!" Shayera exclaimed exasperatedly, though not surprised that he would bring up something so ridiculous at that moment in time.

"What?"

"My bet's also on Shayera," Diana stated. "There's no way that kid could look so much like her and not end up getting her attitude or fighting spirit."

Clark shook his head, "No my bet's on John. She is too calm to take after Shayera. Most children would be screaming their heads off right now."

Shayera shook her head as the people in the room continued to call out their bets while Emma was passed around the room, everyone showering the newborn with more attention than any child could ever ask for.

"You still worried about being a mother?" John asked her.

Shayera chuckled softly as she watched Clark awkwardly craddle their child and quickly passing her off to Diana, "Of course I am."

She laid her head on his shoulder, her eyelids beginning to droop as John wrapped an arm around her, "Well, just keep in mind it could be worse. Every time you worry about what kind of a mother you'll be, just remember what Wally and Clark looked like while holding our daughter."

Shayera had to laugh at that, a calm washing over her at that moment.

Maybe he was right.

As Diana passed the child off to a resistant Bruce, Shayera realized that maybe this new chapter in her life wouldn't be as difficult as she thought it would be.


	20. Checkmate

**A/N:** Set during early Season One of Justice League.

* * *

"See," John began, motioning his hand over the chessboard. The game had started fifteen minutes ago and Shayera, who was extremely bored and sick with his long and drawn out explanations, sat with her head in her hand waiting for John to make his move. "A chess game has three stages, the opening, the middle and the end game. I'm not an expert at this but I know enough to teach you the basics and some more strategic moves." He moved his rook into the middle of the board and Shayera immediately countered. "You want to control the board, well actually you need to control the board if you want to win."

"I know that," She growled. She'd heard all this from him before, more than once since they started. "Keep in mind this is only my first time playing chess. I'm still trying to get the hang of it Lantern."

John paused to scrutinize the board, looking at every possible next move, "You've got to plan ahead then, strategize. Don't make impulsive moves."

Shayera pressed a finger to her pawn and exhaled before changing her mind and going for her knight.

"You gotta line up your attack and protect the king, it's all about attack and defense," He explained as she sighed. She knew plenty about attack and defense and she started to wonder if the Green Lantern thought she was just an impulsive fool who only knew how to throw a punch and swing her mace without a care. "Though you can be aggressive. Just attack hard and leave your opponent wondering what happened."

John made his move, pushing the bishop diagonally across the board and taking Shayera's rook.

"Or," He continued with a frown as he watched her pick her rook up and remove it. "You can play it safe, play it clever. Win the game before your opponent has any idea what your plan is." His hand hesitated over the pieces for a moment and they sat in silence as he decided on his next move. Shayera's eyes flicked up to the clock above John's head and back down to the board. "Chess is important Hawkgirl. You can learn how to anticipate the other person's moves and counter them. You also learn how to stay one step or even ten steps ahead of them at all times," He finally moved his second rook to the left out of the line of fire. "This game is almost like if you were fighting in a war."

Shayera simply ignored him and moved her knight without a second thought. John didn't know it at the time but he hit a nerve.

"You've got to stay focused, keep your brain on the game the whole time like a soldier would on a battlefield," John said with a grin as he took her knight as she scowled. "You've got to-"

Shayera lifted her queen and moved it down the board in one quick motion. "Checkmate," He looked up and stared at her in disbelief. She lifted herself out of the chair and strode away from the table. She moved across the room and sat with the Flash in front of the big screen TV, watching football as he explained the fundamentals of the game to her.

John's eyes widened and he looked down at his king, unable to move as Shayera's queen was in its way. "What the...how did she?" He hadn't even been going easy on the Thanagarian.


	21. Nighttime Worries

Shayera woke up to the soft yet distinct sound of crying that echoed down the hall. Giving a tired groan, she pushed her upper body off of the bed and slowly swung her legs to the side. While she contemplated whether or not she should go back to sleep and hope the insistent wailing would come to a stop, a warm, strong, and muscular arm wrapped itself around her waist. A head gently lay itself on her shoulder.

"What's wrong Shay?" A tired voice mumbled against her neck, hot breath tickling her yet relaxing her at the same time.

"I think Rex is up again," She whispered back, grasping her husband's arm tightly. "Or could you not hear the sound of your own son calling out for us in the dark?"

A light chuckle escaped the man's mouth at her half-sarcastic reply. "You know me," He murmured, rubbing the sensitive spot between his wife's wings. He smiled as her wings and shoulders drooped slightly as she let out a relaxing sigh. "Dead as a doornail when I sleep, can't hear a thing."

"Yeah you're deaf to the things you don't want to hear during your beauty sleep," She retorted, leaning back into her husband's half-embrace as he kissed her bare shoulder. "I really think I should go see and make sure he's alright though," She finally said, wincing as the wailing sound of their son increased instead of ceasing as she had hoped it would.

She could feel his lips form a frown on her shoulder. "He'll wear out and eventually fall asleep," He assured her, tugging lightly on her waist as if inviting her to fall back into the soft, warm, comfortable wrap of the blankets. "You know how it is. It was the same with Emma, remember? J'onn told us to stop coddling her every single time or else she was never going to learn how to go to sleep by herself," He reminded her as he squeezed her waist briefly.

"Yeah, yeah, I remember exactly what he told us to do," She grumbled irritably, waving the subject away. "But Emma was such a trooper. She caught on real quick," She pointed out proudly. Her face fell as another cry burst out. "I'm worried that Rex is never going to settle down," She admitted as a troubled look spread over her face.

"So Emma and Rex are a little different, big deal," John said with a slight shrug. "Emma liked to sleep a lot. She still does." That made Shayera smile as she pictured their two-year-old daughter cuddling up with the stuffed bunny they got her last year, eyes closed and lightly snoring.

"He'll be fine," He promised, hugging her tight against his chest. She let out a soft sigh. "Stop worrying for once."

"Thank you," She whispered and John smiled at the back of her head. With another soft sigh, they both laid back onto the bed, with Shayera pulling his arm over her waist, content just to be together.


	22. Corruption

A sharp clicking sounded echoed throughout the warehouse as a young woman's high-heeled boots met with the metal catwalk. She gazed dismally at the Thanagarian in front of her as she approached and her lips formed a sad smile. The others eyes were filled with traces of rage. She had, after all, almost killed this woman's husband and son a few nights ago. She had almost murdered two of the world's greatest superheroes. The anger radiating from her didn't surprise her but there was something that did.

"Don't look so sympathetic," She whispered. "You have to do this."

"No I don't," The Thanagarian tried to reason with her. "It doesn't have to end this way."

"I should have listened to you," The woman stopped walking as she sighed. "None of this would have happened if I had-"

"You only did what you thought was right. What happened to John and Rex was an accident."

"That doesn't change the fact that I almost killed them!" She sighed in defeat. "I never meant for it to become so personal. All I wanted was justice and then I would have been done with it but I just couldn't stop myself! I kept fighting and fighting, getting angrier and angrier each time," She turned away. "And before I knew it, I became a criminal. I became like all of the other scum."

"But you-"

"Stop it!" She glared at her. "We both know it's true. I just couldn't stay on the right side of the line."

"People rarely can."

"Like I said, that doesn't change anything," There was a brief pause. "How do _you_ stay in the light?"

"It isn't easy. You began to fight crime because you wanted revenge against all the injustice in the world. I did it because I knew there were innocent people on Earth and in the universe that needed protecting. I just try to not let it become personal. You tried your hardest. Your intentions started out on the right side but you faded to gray and then..."

"And then I fell to darkness." She laughed bitterly. "The Justice League is waiting outside to get me if you don't."

"Emma..."

"It's too late Mom," She muttered. "At least let me go out in a blaze of glory."

She promptly leapt down from the catwalk and ran towards the double steel doors. Emma looked over her shoulder at Shayera one last time as she started to open them and mouthed, "I'm sorry."

Before Shayera could even move to stop her, Emma had already raced out to confront the Justice League.


	23. Trouble Maker

As the bright faced five-year-old swung her legs happily from the overlarge office chair, Principal Hugh Nolan of Metropolis Elementary School reached across a pile of papers and straightened his nameplate.

"My Daddy can make one of those with his special ring," The little girl informed him.

"One of what?" Principal Nolan asked the kindergartener. He felt a little irritated that she seemed wholly unintimidated by her first trip to the principal's office.

"He can make letters in things," She said. "He put my name on my toy once."

"With his ring," The principal slowly repeated as he sighed. Most of his kindergartners were in the throes of one fantasy world or another but he knew of this girl's situation. Superman had come personally to get the daughter of Hawkgirl and Green Lantern admitted into Metropolis Elementary School due to it's proximity to the Metro Tower. Her parentage was even kept confidential between the principal, the school secretary, the nurse, and Emma's teachers.

Nolan wasn't particularly impressed by the child's revelation and was not certain he should pretend to be interested. He held fast to his grave face, the one reserved for children who had committed severe offenses. This innocuous looking little girl, with her dancing emerald eyes and shimmering waves of amber hair, certainly merited the look. Nolan hadn't suspended a kindergartner in years; actually he never remembered a time where he had to ever suspend a kindergartner.

His eyes moved to the clock in the right-hand corner of his computer monitor just as his secretary buzzed him, "Mrs. Stewart is here."

The child's feet swung faster in excited response to the announcement of her mother's presence. Nolan doubted her joy would endure beyond the first minute or two of the conversation, once her parent was made aware of her behavior. "Send her in now please."

The door to the principal's office opened inward and a Thanagarian woman, who looked nearly identical to her daughter, stepped into the small room. Her frown moved from Nolan to the little girl who was in the process of leaping from her chair.

"Mommy!" Shayera Stewart's daughter hugged her legs.

Shayera has been caught off guard when Mister Terrific told her that Emma's school was calling and that her daughter was in trouble. After leaving Rex with Wally, Shayera made her way to the school and prayed that Emma hadn't seriously hurt anyone or managed to destroy anything.

"It's only the second week of October," She quietly informed her. "And you're already sitting in the principal's office." As a flash of sullenness briefly clouded her daughter's eyes, Shayera looked up at Nolan and stretched out a hand, leaning forward a little unnaturally as not to wrest her legs from the arms of the little girl who had captured them. "I'm sorry if my daughter caused any trouble. Usually Emma is very well behaved and this is a complete shock."

Nolan nodded at Shayera's statement. "When we have conversations like this, we like for the student to have a seat in the _Reflection Chair_."

Shayera gazed solemnly at her daughter and nodded her head towards the tall chair. Emma clambered obediently into it and started swinging her legs again.

The principal gestured toward a thickly cushioned chair in front of his desk. "From what I've heard and what others have seen today, I believe some of the other children might need protection...from your daughter."

"What did you do?" Shayera asked the child with a sharp, quizzical look.

"I waited three strikes," Emma replied with a shrug. "And then Donny ran out of strikes."

Shayera's face remained turned towards her daughter but her eyes shifted to Nolan as he continued. "It appears a boy in her class-"

"Donny!" Emma repeated.

"We don't generally release other children's names." Nolan said. "Emma said that while her class was waiting on the stairwell, on the way to gym, a little boy pushed her."

"If it's a kid named Donny." Shayera said, her eyes darkening a bit. "I have already spoken to Emma's teacher about him. Emma had trouble with him before. He seems to like to antagonize her."

"I told him to stop," The little five year old added. "But he didn't. I counted to the third strike on the stairs."

"And what happened?" Shayera asked her daughter more than the principal.

The principal held up his hand, silencing Emma as she opened her mouth to answer. Shayera frowned at this, she felt that he had no right to silence her daughter. She rather hear it from Emma; her daughter wasn't a liar.

"She hit him in the head," He said grimly.

Emma elaborated guilelessly. "Elbow smash to the temple Mommy."

The principal watched as Shayera's mouth slightly twitch as though she was about to smirk. She seemed unable to respond for a moment. Which was fine as Nolan hadn't yet finished.

"I'm afraid that's not where our story ends," He said. The Thanagarian turned towards him, frowning.

"A couple of fourth graders were moving past Emma's class as the teacher was settling them down so they could move forward," Nolan continued. "One of them saw Emma hit Don...um, the little boy with her elbow and he grabbed her shoulders. She..." The principal blinked as if not quite believing the several accounts he had received about this aspect of the incident. "She did some kind of martial arts kick and hit _him_ in the arm. And this boy, this fourth grader, he's three times your daughter's size and she literally took him down."

"Jump spinning hook kick," Emma declared proudly and looked expectantly at her mother for a sign of approval. When no praise seemed forthcoming, she added defensively. "He grabbed me first then I kicked him in defense."

"He meant no harm though," Nolan said hastily. "He was merely trying to prevent Emma from hitting the other boy again."

"I didn't kick him _that_ hard," Emma said heatedly. Turning toward her mother again, she explained, "I used the flat of my foot, not the heel."

The oddness of this qualification alone made the principal question what the Stewart's home life was like. Yes the parents were superheroes but surely they weren't teaching their children how to fight at such a young age.

Shayera's face had gone blank; she did not seem to know what to say. Finally she asked neutrally, "Are they ok? The boys my daughter beat up."

"Thankfully yes," Nolan replied with a curt nod. "The smaller boy's nose was a little red but the nurse gave him some ice. The older boy has a sore arm but was more startled than anything else."

Shayera turned toward her daughter, "So you did use the flat of your foot?"

Emma nodded happily and started toying with her hair. Nolan did not like the mother's response; the confirmation of her daughter's use of self-control seemed too much like approval.

"Mrs. Stewart-" Nolan started.

"Mr. Nolan, I am very sorry," Shayera said quickly. "We're going to have to monitor Emma's television time," She gave her daughter a halfhearted, stern look. "No kung-fu movies anymore." The girl giggled; she never watched a kung-fu movie in her life.

As Emma's eyes glittered in, what Nolan was almost positive was, amusement. Her mother added, "And we'll see that there are appropriate consequences for this behavior. I can completely assure you that we do not teach our children any type of fighting moves at home. Emma simply likes to watch action movies and has a rather vivid imagination."

"I appreciate that Mrs. Stewart," The principal said dubiously, adding that school policy still required him to suspend Emma, for at least the rest of the day and the next three school days. Regardless of a student's age or gender, the rules had to be applied uniformly. Shayera assured him that she understood and asked if she could take her daughter home.

As Emma hopped from the chair, she asked. "Mommy, can we go get ice cream?"

"Well um you have to be punished," Her mother replied tonelessly as Nolan's eyes narrowed. "That would rule out ice cream."

Emma pouted but allowed Shayera's hand to engulf her tiny one. Shayera gave it a quick squeeze and nodded toward the principal.

"I won't beat up anymore kids," She promised. "But only if they don't push me three times."

"I don't think anyone here will ever push you again," Nolan said wryly. "But even if they push you _five_ times, you can't hit them. You have to tell your teacher."

Shayera nodded as she added in, "No more elbow smashes." The little girl nodded in agreement. Despite the gravity of her tone, Nolan was sure he saw a brief glint of pride in Shayera's eyes. "Or," She waved her hand in a vague circle. "Jumping spinny whatever kicks."

"Hook," Her daughter offered though she knew that her mother knew what the move was called as she seen Shayera use it plenty of times on bad guys on TV. She waved to the principal and led her mother out of the small office. Nolan watched the door close behind them and completed the incident report he had started on Emma Rachel Stewart whose tenure at Metropolis Elementary, he was unpleasantly sure of, was going to be more colorful than the average student's.

* * *

Despite her resolve Shayera quickly crumbled under her daughter's pleading expression and caved in, allowing her daughter to have ice cream. Which was why the two were currently up in the Watchtower's cafeteria.

"You have whipped cream on your nose honey," Shayera informed her daughter, as the little girl shoveled a spoonful of fudge-coated chocolate ice cream into her mouth. Shayera leaned forward with a small smile and wiped the glob of white fluff off with her thumb.

"You could have some ice cream," Emma offered as she moved to hand the sticky spoon to her.

She shook her head. "Thanks but Mommy needs to stay in shape. Now what aren't we going to tell that stupid principal or your teacher?"

"That you took me to get ice cream even though you said you wouldn't," She answered eagerly, as though she was answering an extra-credit question. "And that I don't watch kung-fu movies anymore cause I got you to properly teach me but they can't know that you're teaching me how to defend myself."

"And?" Shayera pressed.

"And even if someone pushes me three times I'm still gonna hit 'em," She replied enthusiastically.

"Right," Shayera nodded. "But not too hard." After a moment of deliberation she added. "And what aren't we going to tell Daddy?"

"Even though I got in trouble you still let me have ice cream and that I ate ice cream before eating a healthy lunch," Emma replied promptly.

"That's my girl."


	24. Pancakes

**A/N:** Set between _Small Talk_ and _Alien_.

* * *

The early morning sunlight slowly crept up the sheets before reaching the snoring lump at the top of the bed. John Stewart groaned and squeezed his eyelids together, not wanting to be disturbed. He pulled the covers up over his head and tried to drift back into the dream that he had, until a moment ago, been enjoying.

A few minutes later, after accepting fate and realizing that sleep was now impossible, John's hand slipped across the bed to the other side, where he expected to be met by the soft skin of another warm body. When searching only led to the rough texture of ruffled sheets, the Green Lantern sat up and shielded his eyes from the morning sun. Fighting the blurry forms in the corners of his eyes, John discovered he was alone. The door was cracked however and strange noises were sifting in from the world outside of the bedroom.

John got up and tried to place the familiar sounds as he proceeded, somewhat cautiously, out into the living room. He was greeted by Rachel Ray's smiling face on the TV screen and, after throwing her a confused look, he made his way to the other side of the apartment.

It was there, in the kitchen, that John found the source of the noises and the answers to several of his questions that morning. It was also that moment that so many more questions were born. John scratched the back of his head as he tried to absorb what his eyes were showing him: Shayera Hol was standing in front of the stove, attempting to flip _something_ in a frying pan.

"What are you doing?" The blackened object hit the ground, scattering crumbs all over the tile floor.

"Jeez John! What are you trying to give me a heart attack?"

He tilted his head and repeated in a daze, "What are you doing?'

Shayera gave him a grueling look and John could still see the hints of sleep that coated her gaze. "What does it look like I'm doing?"

John stayed where he was standing and did a double take back to the TV, where Rachel Ray had been replaced by a car commercial. He just stared and said in disbelief, "You're cooking?"

Shayera threw up her arms in exasperation. "Yes! And thanks to you, I have to start over! And thanks to your lack of a DVR, I have to do it from memory!"

" _You're cooking_?" John was still taking note of the situation. _**Shayera**_ was trying to **_cook_** for him. Those two words didn't belong in the same sentence to begin with.

The Thanagarian's eyebrows raised in unamusement as she rolled her eyes, "Yes I am. What did you become a parrot since last night?"

John bit his bottom lip to prevent a smile from spreading across his face. Shayera, who noticed the smirk from her place on the floor, deepened her glare. John opened his mouth only to be met by a venomous, "Shut up."

John ignored her and knelt down, scooping up pieces of the supposed breakfast. After a few moments of trying to identify what it was he was cleaning up, John felt the need to ask, "What was it that you were...trying to make anyway?"

Shayera blew a strand of hair out of her face as she replied, "Scrambled eggs."

John's eyes flickered back to the TV one more time before saying, " And you needed the Food Network to...oh wait a second don't tell me you don't-"

"No! I don't know how to cook!" The _eggs_ hit the bottom of the trash with a thump John thought only a brick could create. "I know it's pathetic! I'm an adult and can't cook to save my life! Go on and laugh! I was just trying to do something nice for you because it's that Earth holiday about hearts and love right? I didn't want the activity involving us getting beat around in some alien bar for a change."

Frustration emitted from every move Shayera made as she tried to find every last crumb. John's smile increased. Usually it was the Green Lantern who took care of the cooking unless they ate up in the Watchtower.

"But that's what we do every Christmas and we have fun. Especially when we get back to Earth," He whispered in her ear.

Blushing only the slightest, the Thanagarian snorted, "Go away, I'll clean it up." Shayera's arms moved from their place on her hips and stretched before crossing over her chest.

"But all of this talk about food got me hungry."

"Fine have cereal then. I think there's a box of those disgusting Wheaties left."

John wrapped his arms around Shayera's waist. Pulling her closer, John connected his eyes with the warm emerald pair a few inches away. "I was going for something a bit more...flavorful."

Shayera finally uncrossed her arms and coiled them around his neck. "And what exactly did you have in mind?" She was trying to keep her tone nonchalant but it wasn't easy considering the distraction of John's lips being mere inches away from hers.

"Pancakes."

Shayera pulled back the slightest bit so she could look into his eyes. "Pancakes?" That wasn't exactly the comeback Shayera was hoping for. She kept the disappointment hidden when she realized things weren't going where she had hoped.

John's expression remained innocent. Though his girlfriend hid it well, John knew exactly where Shayera had thought they were going. He unraveled his arms and leaned against the counter.

"Yes and, if the high-and-mighty Thanagarian will let me, I can show her how to do it without the help of Betty Crocker."

"And what makes you think I need your help?"

"The charred debris smoldering in our garbage can."

"Touché," Shayera sighed and made her way in front of the fridge. "Alright your cooking majesty, what magic ingredients do we need?"

After everything had been laid out on the counter, Shayera had taken the frying pan and was in front of the sink trying to salvage it. She was still pouting a little, seeing as they were still in the kitchen and not...well what she wanted to do. She wasn't complaining though, since she was looking forward to her favorite cooking program. The one with the funny guy running around a kitchen and yelling "Bam!" while cooking.

A crash from the counter pulled Shayera away from her train of thought. Without turning away from the sink she said, "Any mess _you_ make you're cleaning up yourself."

A few moments later, Shayera dropped the pan in the murky water as a gasp escaped her lips. She felt the floury pancake mix settle onto her cheek and then John kissing said cheek.

"If you insist."

* * *

**Happy Valentine's Day! ^_^**


	25. Ni'rih Come Back

**A/N:** Set between _Alien_ Chapter 27 and the Epilogue. In this chapter Emma is three-years-old and Rex is eighteen months.

* * *

John watched his son eat in fascinated wonder. Rex had only lately progressed to using utensils and took such extreme care to not spill even one morsel that it even set John a bit on edge.

Once again he waited, breath held, as Rex manipulated the colorful, plastic utensils with chubby fingers. Only when the shaking spoon reached its intended destination did a sigh of relief escape him.

The sound roused Shayera from her total absorption in their daughter as she played with Emma in the adjoining living room.

Her smile as she regarded him was dazzling, alive with affection and delight, "Nerve wracking isn't it?"

"Yeah it is," He smirked. "It's exhausting just to watch. He's very precise and meticulous. He must have acquired those traits from you."

He saw her roll her eyes just the slightest, "Thanks, I think."

"They're good qualities to have sometimes," John refuted.

Shayera lightly laughed as she planted a kiss on her daughter's cheek, who was more interested in her toys than her mother, before getting up and walking over to John and Rex.

"Ni'rih!" Rex shrieked in joyous abandon. He beamed up at Shayera.

"Right Ni'rih," She repeated and the boy whacked his spoon against the edge of his bowl.

Unable to restrain his son in time, John could only sit and watch as the bowl tipped, straight into his lap.

Shayera avoided his eyes as she passed him a pile of napkins, hastily suppressing a sound suspiciously like a chuckle, "I guess that means he's had enough."

Amused, John mopped at the sticky mess that now stained his once immaculate pants. "It appears so. I still can't believe you taught him Thanagarian."

"Well I told you I'd get one of them to say something in Thanagarian as their first words. You should have known better than to have challenged me. Besides, Emma doesn't want anything to do with it and Rex only knows two words. It hardly qualifies as being taught Thanagarian. Those two words are all he's going to know unless he wants to learn more when he's older," She stated, pausing slightly as she slowly continued. "Now are you sure you can handle _both_ of them without me here? I mean I'm sure they can find someone else to go on the mission besides me. Or we can switch, I stay and you go."

"Shay, I got it covered. Don't get yourself worried," John said. "It's more like if you're going to be able to handle not being around them. This is the first deep space mission you're doing in over four years."

Shayera smiled, "I should be able to handle it. At least I hope they'll be able to handle it better than I will. They've never been separated from me before," She lifted an awaiting Rex into her arms and placed a kiss on the top of his head. She reached out and grabbed John's hand and he gave it a gentle squeeze, "I have to go."

"Be careful Shayera," John said to her and pulled her into a soft yet quick kiss.

"Don't worry I will be," She passed Rex off to him and spoke to her son, "Mene sakk'het ur'sevah Rex _,_ " John loved when Shayera spoke in Thanagarian. He honestly couldn't imagine how she screamed out commands as a lieutenant. Her tone was much softer and delicate than when she spoke English, which still held the same faint accent as when he first met her.

"What does that translate to?" John asked.

"Roughly I'll miss you and be good."

"M'aih Ni'rih," Rex said happily, not understanding that his mother was about to leave.

Shayera softly and somewhat sadly smiled at him, "That's right m'aih Ni'rih." She turned her attention back to John. "I'm going to go see whether or not Emma is too engrossed in her toys to say goodbye. Why don't you try to put Rex down for his n-a-p and then Emma for hers. They both haven't taken any today. They're going to be cranky and out of control later if they don't take one soon."

John smirked, "I have it covered Shayera. Don't worry."

Shayera quietly moved next to and knelt besides her daughter. She took notice that her daughter wasn't playing anymore and that she heard a soft sniffle come from her.

"Mommy has to go bye-bye?" She asked desolately. Though she did not cry, Emma hugged her mother's waist.

Shayera wrapped her arms around her. "I promise I'll be back as soon as I can honey." Shayera kissed her forehead. "Be good for Daddy ok?"

She pulled away, placing a finger to her commlink. The three watched as the Thanagarian was teleported away.

"Ni'rih," Crestfallen, Rex pouted as he looked up at John. It was the first word Shayera had taught him to say, the Thanagarian equivalent of 'mommy'. The second being m'aih meaning 'love'. "Ni'rih gone. Rex want Ni'rih."

John had little defense against the soft plea, yet he was unable to console the boy the exact way Shayera would have done. With a calming breath, he said to the toddler, "Mommy will be home before you know it."

John then felt a tug at his pant leg. He looked down at Emma. The little girl was also pouting, "Me wants Mommy."

His dark eyes took in the boy and girl who both looked up at him pleadingly to go get their mother _now_.

The workload of the Green Lantern Corps and the Justice League kept him away from home more than he liked. In the meantime Emma and Rex had become dependent largely on their mother, not that they didn't love him but they were more attached to Shayera. They had mainly known Shayera's devoted love and protection. They took their child fears to her and expected kisses or hugs from her whenever they fell or bumped themselves. Nonetheless, John recognized that Shayera's abundant time with her children was unfortunately coming to a close. It was only a few days ago when Shayera, surprisingly being somewhat reluctant, agreed to go back on active duty with the Justice League. Shayera had been toting the kids with her to her monitor duty shifts for roughly two and a half years now; they had become practically glued to her.

The two half-Thanagarians were going to have to learn how to cope without their parents being there 100% of the time. As much as they didn't like this notion, both John and Shayera knew this would eventually happen as they refused to retire from the superhero business. If they wanted to continue their lifestyle then there were things they were going to have to sacrifice as parents, namely quality time with their children.

"Ni'rih," The tugging at his shirt brought John back from his thoughts and he looked down into the round, emerald eyes of Rex. "Ni'rih come back."

Emma, it seemed, was growing impatient. She looked at him with anticipation, "Me and Rexy wants Mommy back!" That was Emma's nickname for Rex, only she could call him "Rexy". If Shayera or John tried to call him that, they would get an ear full from their precocious daughter.

John sighed lightly, "Princess, I promise Mommy will be back soon."

"Me wants Mommy now!" She demanded with a stamp of her foot.

"Wants Mommy!" Rex repeated.

Though not in complete unison the two began chanting, "Wants Mommy."

John sighed. There was no winning with these two; they were stubborn, their mother's children. He placed a finger to his commlink, "Shayera you didn't leave yet did you? Good cause I think we might need to switch places."


	26. Question of Ethics

"Not _too_ bad," Shayera conceded, shrugging her shoulders to get the feeling back into her hands. She was quicker than John and more able to rely on pure fighting skill. Even for a human he wasn't too bad and when he hit...well. Like she said before, it wasn't all _that_ shabby. She'd taken better hits but it wasn't like he was as useless a human as others of his species.

"Thanks," He sighed, cracking his knuckles This, he soon realized, was a mistake. The look in her eyes switched in an instant from grudging admiration to fierce, predatory excitement of a sort. He'd felt it from her far too often so he wasn't terrified by it. Yet it was one thing when she grinned like that at their enemies but quite another when she was directing it towards him.

He went hastily to correct the gap in his upper body defense but Shayera clearly hadn't survived all those years on Thanagar by being overly rigid in her form. She swept him off his feet with one kick and, before he even knew it, he had a foot holding down his right arm and the tip of her mace inches from his throat, smiling like a madwoman.

"I only said not bad," She replied flippantly. "That doesn't mean _good enough_." Her stare reminded John quite suddenly of a cat watching a mouse trapped between its paws, mocking and terrifyingly intense. He groaned a little but made no effort to sit up.

"Hawkgirl, I thought we were taking a break," He complained halfheartedly, knowing what kind of response he was likely to get. Shayera shook her head before kneeling down on his chest.

"What kind of kiddy fights have you been in that you _take a break_ every time someone gets hit?" She asked curiously and John rolled his eyes.

"Sparring is different."

"Of course it's different. When we spar, I'm not trying to kill you like our enemies," Satisfied that this was all the response he could possibly need, she continued, " _Now_ the fight is over so _now_ you can let your guard down. At least, as long as we're not in actual combat."

John sighed, she really wasn't ever going to change. With a slight frown, he asked, "Then if the fight's over, why are you still pinning me down Hawkgirl?"

The answer came without words. Shayera just stared him down until he had the presence of mind to pick up on her look. He took a sudden breath. "Oh."

"Don't oh me," She complained as she clipped her mace to her belt. "I'm not the one who's been sitting here radiating lust since I got knocked down by someone half my size. Honestly Lantern, how do you _ever_ come out of fights alive with women?"

John gave her his most dashing smile. "Well, not everyone can look as good as you while beating me into the ground," This comment was met with a quizzical look as expected. She'd never been good with the compliment thing. He sighed. "And really, I'm not as bad as you're always claiming."

"I know that," The statement surprised him and she smirked at his shock. "I've already told you once today you're not bad. Do you honestly think I'd waste my time on a weakling? We need to be at our physical best especially after...well...you know." She slid off of and sat next to him. She sadly sighed as she took off her helmet and placed it on the ground between them.

"You miss him don't you?" His tone softened.

She sighed again, "He was like a little brother to all of us. Annoying us to no end, making funny yet stupid remarks, and always being on the bright side of things no matter how bad the situation got. So yeah I do miss him a lot. Honestly I think he held the best morals of all of us."

John remained silent as though he was hesitant to what he was about to ask. Finally he spoke up, "Do you think Superman was justified in killing Luthor?" Shayera didn't respond to that one and looked at him in shock. "I swear I won't tell _them_ what you say. I myself don't really think so. Maybe lobotomize but not kill."

"I just think maybe he took things out of hand. Maybe there's a better way for us to do this than how we currently are," She mused momentarily. "Did Batman tell you what Superman did to Joker recently?"

"He lobotomized him," He monotonously answered.

Shayera nodded as she slightly shivered, "Yeah _and_ he did it to a couple of others in Arkham too. I don't see how he thinks he can do this. We swore to protect people, not make them terrified of us. How is this going to better the world in general?"

"It's the way Earth is right now Hawkgirl," John stated. "There are bad people out there and we have to stop them. The ways we were doing it before obviously weren't working. Maybe Superman is on to something with this lobotomizing. I don't condone killing and lobotomizing the bad guys isn't killing them. We're just making it so they can't hurt anyone ever again."

"You honestly believe that?" She scoffed. "He's just...he's just like Luthor now John. He's willing to kill anyone in _his_ way. He doesn't care about us as the Justice Lords. It's all of Lord Superman now," She looked intensely at him. "I get the world isn't a safe place but I don't think making all of the bad guys catatonic is going to solve anything. We're going to become the bad guys if we continue this."

"You apparently have given this some thought," John said. "That's what I thought at first but I remembered how I grew up in the latter half of the Cold War thinking the world could blow up any day. We have the power to stop those kind of things from happening. The people might not see it right now but it's for their own good we do this. We're making Earth a better place, a better world to live in."

"You have valid points. I suppose if I had children I would want them to grow up in a safe environment where they wouldn't have to worry about crime or anything."

"You're thinking of having kids? Oh I can totally see you Hawkgirl as a nurturing mother," John couldn't help it. He burst out laughing, his amusement only augmented by the deadly glares Shayera kept sending him.

"Stop it!" She snapped irritably but it was no use. An elbow to the stomach sent him stumbling to the ground but he was still chuckling. Shayera moved on top of him, pinning him back with a feral growl. "You're making fun of me!"

He looked at her as seriously as he could. "Nah not at all," Pushing himself forward a few inches, he caught her lips in a kiss and after a few moments she pushed him away.

"Liar," She muttered carelessly. "Besides I was speaking hypothetically. I have no desire to have any children. The thought of it is repulsing."

"Because then you wouldn't be able to fight and would have to split your time between kids and the Justice Lords."

"Yeah like I said, I have absolutely no desire. Those facts alone support my choice," Then she was kissing him again, controlling him again, effortlessly powerful as ever. For a moment, she broke away from the kiss, "Wanna start sparring again?"

"I'm game for it," He caught her gaze and held it.

"Oh and don't even think that you're going to be getting off easy this round, pansy."

* * *

**A/N:** Technically still John and Shayera, just a different version of them. Set in the early days of the Justice Lords.


	27. First Word

They had a sort of competition. It revolved around their daughter and the forthcoming first words that both waited somewhat impatiently for.

"Ni'rih," Shayera said confidently. "Those first spoken words will be all about me."

"You don't know that," John said, dropping a kiss onto the girl's head as she gave out a small laugh. "Right, Emma? You are going to say _Daddy_ first. Right? Daddy. _Daddy_."

Shayera frowned and held out her hands. "Hand her over."

"What?"

"You are attempting to sway her, John. That isn't fair."

John chuckled, keeping his hold on his daughter. "She's eleven months old, Shay. I doubt I am capable of swaying her."

"Don't try to settle me into a false sense of comfort. I know you're some sort of baby whisperer. Don't forget you were the first one to make her eat those mashed peas."

"I have a confession to make," He said. "I never actually fed her those. I just opened up a different jar."

"Really?"

"Some people just don't like peas. _I_ don't like peas."

"Something you have in common," Shayera intoned. "See, you're already bonding your way to her first word."

"You're paranoid."

"I want a fair competition," She clarified. "Now, hand her over."

He didn't know if he should find her fierce competition over Emma's first words endearing but it didn't stop him from feeling that way. He had wondered if motherhood would soften her and he had to admit he was happy to see that it hadn't, not entirely that is. He saw a softer side when she was with Emma but in most ways things hadn't changed. Same bottomless drive. Same wicked sense of humor. Same Shayera.

He passed Emma over to her, watching the way her lips curled into a smile as she began talking to their daughter. He laughed as she said, "Your father is being a bad influence by attempting to sway your affections but I will not let him."

"You cannot sway an infant's affections," He argued lightly.

"Oh please, a baby's affection is determined by who has the exciting keys or stuffed animal."

John grinned and picked the plastic keys up from the ground, dangling them in front of Emma who laughed in excitement. Shayera scowled and instructed him, "Put them down, John!"

Returning them to the table, John quipped, "Yes, Mother."

Shayera smiled a bit and dropped her mouth to Emma's ear as she murmured, "See, Emma baby, your Daddy listens to me. He listens to your Ni'rih. Got it? He listens to _Ni'rih_."

John's eyes widened before exclaiming, "You're doing the same exact thing!"

Emma wrapped one hand around Shayera's thumb as she answered, "I am most certainly not."

"We need to call a truce on this competition," John said with mock seriousness. "Just let the kid say what she wants."

"She wants to say _Ni'rih_. She came out of me."

"I played a role too, you know."

"Yes but a broken hand doesn't measure up to dealing with nineteen hours of nonstop, excruciating pain."

As her mother and father playfully bickered, Emma gazed up at them, glancing from one parent to another. Back and forth, back and forth.

"You just want a truce because you know you can't win," Shayera said.

"Not true."

"No?"

"You're not going to win this fight Shay."

"Oh don't you worry John, I'm _going_ to win this fight."

Softly, the baby on her knee mumbled, " _Fight_."

Both parents were silent until Shayera finally stammered, "Did...did she just do what I think she did?"

John grinned. Yup, his daughter uttered her first word. And the first word was-

"Her first word was _fight_?" Shayera said in disbelief.

John laughed, gently ruffling the little girl's hair. When he looked up at Shayera he said, "First word is _fight_ huh? She really is your daughter."


	28. Chef Shayera

**A/N:** I literally found this in one of my Docs. It's been finished for a long time but I completely forgot about it. Ties into Chapter 24 _Pancakes_. Emma - 15 months old, Shayera - 7 months pregnant. Oh was that a spoiler? :P

* * *

When Shayera put her mind to something, she had a singular focus that no amount of outside noise or distraction could break through. She had used this focus while she was in the espionage wing of the Thanagarian military. Then, she used it in every fight and every trite monitor duty shift.

Now, she was calling on her superhuman focus yet again. But it wasn't for a battle No, this was something entirely different. Shayera Stewart was going to learn how to cook.

It all started when John made an off-handed remark about how he usually cooked for her. She was sitting next to him on the couch as he massaged her back, which was killing her from pregnancy hormones, while she thought through what he had said. Sure, the comment had been casual but did he mean something behind it? Shayera was hardly the domestic type but he had to know that.

"Do you like doing it?" She asked gingerly.

"Like what?"

"The cooking," she clarified, watching his expression carefully.

He nodded noncommittally and told her, "Yeah, I guess."

She nodded, pressing her lips together as she chose not to respond. He easily read her silence and said, "I don't care that you don't cook, Shayera. It's not your thing. I get that."

"It's not my thing?" she repeated. "What do you mean it's not _my thing_?" He saw he was treading on dangerous ground and attempted to change the subject. Shayera, however, was having none of it. "You don't think I can cook!"

"Well, for the twelve years I have known you, I haven't seen you successfully cook once. Remember when you tried to make scrambled eggs a few years ago?"

"Just because I failed once doesn't mean I can't do it," she said, now in a complete huff as she wrenched herself from the couch.

" _Shayera_ ," He sighed, she was getting cranky again.

"I'm cooking," She announced. "From now on, I am going to cook dinner and show you that I can cook."

"Shay, we're barely here for dinner during the week" he reminded her gently. "And with Emma being a picky eater and you with your crazy cravings-"

"I am fully capable of cooking on the weekends," She interjected, nodding her head firmly. "Yes that's what I'll do. I will make dinners on Saturday and Sunday nights from now on."

"You don't have to do this," He said, leaning forward and capturing her hand with his own. "I don't care that we eat a lot of take out."

She was still a bit teed off at him but ran her thumb over the back of his hand, anyway. "You think I can't cook and I am going to prove you wrong."

* * *

_The First Dinner_

She chose Ina Garten to be her cooking guru this time, purely because her show was called _Back to Basics_. If the woman had an entire show teaching the basics, she had to be good. And basics was something Shayera could handle, could _master_.

Lemon Thyme Chicken.

She memorized the recipe, wanting to be in full control once she stepped into the kitchen. All the ingredients were bought and lined in an orderly fashion on the counter. She was prepared. She was ready. Last minute, though, she felt a flash of nerves and decided she wanted some company while she cooked. John was banned from the kitchen so she grabbed Emma's highchair and slipped her into her seat.

"Alright, Mommy is cooking for Daddy tonight," she said, putting the skillet on the stove and turning on the gas beneath it. "Because Daddy thinks I can't cook," she continued. "But I am going to prove him wrong."

She wandered over to the counter and picked up the chicken, prepared to dredge it. She thought the word was stupid sounding, like a few other English words, but cast her thoughts aside for the moment. She had Googled it. Youtubed it. Seen Ina Garten herself do it. She was ready to get into action. After properly dredging, she put the chicken breasts to the side and poured some oil into the pan. Next she added the chicken and she nodded succinctly when it sizzled properly.

Everything was going according to plan. She poured in the bit of wine and lemon juice, then set the timer. Wiping her hands on a hand towel she turned to Emma and said, "See? Mommy _can_ cook."

* * *

The three of them sat at the kitchen table, Shayera and John cutting into their chicken while Emma dipped one pudgy hand into her small bowl of Cheerios. John glanced at the chicken, swallowing hard when he saw the pinkish tint of the meat. He looked up at Shayera and saw her staring at her chicken in much the same manner that he had. Her eyes rose to meet his and she pursed her lips into a frown as she stood and grabbed both of their plates.

"Not a word," she gruffly ordered.

She stuck John's in the microwave and took out her frustration on the machine's buttons. Behind her John filled his salad plate with the salad she had thrown together quickly. He took a large mouthful and chewed. His face contorted when he realized she must have mixed up the mustard and salad dressing. Forcing himself to swallow, he decided to pacify her. "Good salad, babe."

" _Anyone_ can make salad," She huffed.

* * *

_The Second Dinner_

Okay, so the basics had proved a bit more difficult than she anticipated. Still, she was undaunted. Shayera was going to cook. There was no question, no discussion. She was going to cook and she was going to cook well.

Pasta.

Who could mess up pasta? Any culinary-challenged person could make pasta so she knew she could handle this. Her time in the kitchen was short this round but she brought Emma along for moral support again. She seemed to enjoy her prime seat, watching her mother and occasionally parroting back simple words.

"Doesn't it smell good Em?" She asked in Emma's direction.

"Good," She parroted in response.

Shayera grinned, stopping her cooking long enough to give her a quick kiss on her cheek. "That's right, Emma. Mommy is going to win tonight. She's going to prove she can cook."

"Mommy win," Emma said as Shayera lightly laughed.

"That's right, Mommy win."

"Smells good, Shay," John called from the living room.

"No talking," she called back. "You're going to jinx me."

"I'm only-"

"Ah!" she interrupted, "Shush!" She moved back to the stove and gave her pasta sauce a quick stir. He obeyed her call for silence and she rewarded him by saying, "Dinner will be ready in five minutes."

* * *

The pasta was cooked perfectly. The sauce was flavorful and complex or at least that's what Tyler Florence had said on the TV. But as she ate the pasta, chewing thoughtfully, she came to one devastating conclusion.

"Yours is better," she said, setting down her fork. "Your sauce comes out of a jar but yours tastes better!"

"I think it's good," he told her, pushing a piece of pasta around the plate to sop up more sauce. "Really, Shay, it's good."

She frowned. As far as she was concerned, she still had not proven herself as a cook.

* * *

_The Last Supper_

Baked chicken and rice.

The rice overflowed twice.

Losing track of time as she tended to that damn rice, the chicken burnt.

She hated cooking. Hated it. _Hated_ it!

She sank to the floor, back and wings pressed against the oven. "John!"

"Am I allowed in your sanctuary?" He teased.

"Just get your behind over here Lantern," She growled. He came into the kitchen, stifling a laugh when he saw her sitting on the floor in defeat. Without hesitation he sat down beside her, laying a hand on her knee.

"So, Chinese or pizza?" He asked.

She sighed, "Chinese and I want extra eel heads for doing this."


	29. Alien Deleted Scene 1

**A/N:** Set shortly after _Alien_ Chapter 27. My semester for college is basically over now. I'm on a roll, probably because I'm so happy it's over, and I'm just going to keep on going. Originally this was going to be in Alien but I couldn't really make it fit. It was originally going to be between Chapter 27 and the Epilogue. Consider it's a deleted scene!

* * *

John walked into the apartment, bogged down with grocery bags, and looked oddly at his wife as he used the heel of his foot to push the door closed. She was seated in front of the coffee table, stacks of books spread out with brightly colored post-it notes sticking out from the pages. The stack of notes and five highlighters resided beside her hand and she tossed him an absentminded greeting as she peeled off a neon yellow one and marked another page.

"What are you doing?" He asked, walking into the kitchen and setting down all the bags.

"What does it look like I'm doing? I'm studying."

"For what?"

She straightened up and said, "Oh I don't know, maybe the impending birth of our child?"

John grinned. "That's a lot of post-it notes you've got there."

"Well, there is a lot to mark. This is like the ultimate test, John. That stupid civics test doesn't even compare to this. We are bringing a _person_ into the world." She became spooked by her own little speech and turned back to her books as she muttered, "I need to study." Her gaze returned to him for one moment and she added, " _You_ need to study." Her eyes then returned to the book.

John chuckled softly to himself and sat beside his information-cramming wife. "Like I said before this is something you learn by trial Shayera."

She snorted and said, "I am not going to do trial and error with our kid."

"That's how most people do it."

"Don't give me that, most people read the baby books. That's why they exist," She argued, pointing at the piles of baby knowledge. "And they make the books for a reason, John. The reason is so that they can be read."

"Most people do not go through them with post-it notes and highlighters."

"And _that_ is why so many diaper rashes happen!" Shayera enthused, using this as evidence for why her reading of the baby books was superior. He suppressed a grin as she continued. After all it was only two months ago when she claimed she didn't need a book to tell her how to be a mother. "If people read the baby books thoroughly they would know how to avoid diaper rashes."

"You watch their diet and make sure to change their diapers enough," He offered.

"Exactly," she said with a succinct nod. "And don't cover the diaper with plastic pants, which look ugly to begin with. See our baby is never going to get a diaper rash."

"I knew all of that without the baby book," He told her with a straight face.

"Doesn't count," she said immediately. "Your power ring has a database that can tell you anything."

He leaned down and kissed the top of her head before saying, "I got you that ice cream you wanted."

"Oh good," Shayera said earnestly, her attention pulled from the studying at the prospect of triple fudge cookie dough ice cream.

John grabbed the pint and a spoon, and then went back into the living room, handing them to her. She popped the top off happily and dug her spoon into the ice cream. She put a large spoonful into her mouth and closed her eyes almost reverently as she swallowed.

"If I could marry Bob and Terry, I so would," she said solemnly.

"You'd have to divorce me first," John reminded her, settling beside her on the couch.

"That could be arranged. Have Bruce give me Rachel's number."

He looked over at her and asked, "You'd leave me for Bob and Terry?"

"And a lifetime supply of this," she added, pointing at the pint. "In fact, I probably would have a lifetime supply of all the flavors. Now that would be a fruitful marriage. You won't even give me soda."

"Because it's not good for you," He then grinned. "You do realize that Bob and Terry don't actually exist, right Shay?"

"A minute detail," She dismissively waved off.

He shook his head and moved back into the kitchen to continue unpacking the groceries while Shayera continued her pre-birth studying, spoon in one hand and Bob and Terry's Triple Fudge Cookie Dough in the other.


	30. Shower

The news of Shayera's pregnancy had spread relatively quickly through the Justice League.

Shayera fielded the subsequent questions and offered the stock answers. No, she did not know the gender of the baby. Yes, she and John were thrilled. Yes, she would still be a kick ass fighter when she got off maternity leave. She took no pleasure in talking about the baby, figuring she would have the entire kid's life to have people fawn over it and her involvement.

In her mums-the-word approach to the pregnancy, she had thought it implicit that she did not want a baby shower. Mari knew she didn't want one and who besides Mari and perhaps Diana would want to throw her a baby shower? Little did Shayera know, a force of nature more powerful than her rejection of convention was at work.

And its names were Courtney Whitmore and Beatriz da Costa.

* * *

"What do you mean she doesn't want a shower?" Beatriz asked with a blank smile, laughing as she looked over at Diana. "What prospective mother doesn't want a baby shower?"

"Trust me, she doesn't want one," Mari repeated.

Diana nodded, "I think we should respect Shayera's wishes."

"But a baby is a joyous thing," Beatriz argued, her green eyes sparkling. "A baby well...babies are like miracles! And a miracle should be celebrated!"

"Shayera is not the celebrating type," Dinah said simply. "I've known her long enough to know that she'll hate us for doing this."

"I've seen you guys _celebrate_ on several occasions after missions," Courtney argued. "Trust me, Fire and I are going to make it awesome and celebratory. She will not regret having a shower."

Beatriz lips dipped into a frown. "And besides, I already bought a toy and I didn't get a gift receipt."

"It's best not to cross Shayera," Diana warned the two.

Neither Courtney nor Beatriz looked convinced and Dinah reminded them, "Consider the pregnancy hormones."

Courtney shook her blonde head and announced, "This is ridiculous. We are throwing her a party. We can have it right here in the Watchtower, in the lounge! It won't be a big to-do, only us five. It'll be perfect. Don't you guys worry about the shower. Me and Fire totally have it all under control."

They stood and walked away, leaving the three remaining women with morose looks on their faces.

"Shayera is going to hate us for this," Mari said, imagining the fit her friend would throw when she found out.

"Either that or try to kill us," Diana offered.

Dinah nodded her head in agreement and breathed out, "Oh this is bad."

* * *

"I heard grumbling from some of the League members about _your_ baby shower," John said offhandedly to Shayera, bringing her a plate of pasta. They had taken to eating in the Metro Tower for a change of pace instead of the Watchtower and she stretched out her legs, plopping her feet on the chair next to her. With all the things pregnancy robbed Shayera of, the round stomach did lend her a rather convenient resting spot for a plate.

She took the plate of pasta from him and propped it on her stomach as she said, "I don't know what you're talking about."

"You're not planning one, are you?"

"Are you kidding?" She asked, snorting. "I'm not the baby shower type."

"Didn't think so," He said, sitting across from her.

"It was probably for someone else. I can't be the only pregnant person in the world."

"They said your name, though."

"Probably just in passing," She shoved a forkful of pasta into her mouth and rolled her eyes. "I'm not too worried. Diana and Mari know better than to spring one on me and who else would throw me one?" She put another forkful in her mouth and mumbled, "The baby shower is not for me."

* * *

"The monitor shifts sucked today," Shayera complained as she placed her knuckles against her back, attempting to crack it to get rid of the constant backache but to no avail. "Nothing even remotely interesting happened for two hours straight. Not even a bank robbery!"

"What can I say? Today's been kinda slow," Mari stated.

"Hey, you wanna grab some lunch?" Shayera asked, feeling her stomach twist with the beginning pangs of hunger. "Boredom makes me hungry."

"Want to stop in the lounge first?" Mari asked innocently.

Shayera nodded, figuring she could hold out for a bit before lunch. "Sure, why not?"

They headed towards the lounge and Shayera noticed Mari was walking funny, her arms pressed to her sides as if she were uncomfortable. "What's wrong with you?"

"What?" She asked innocently innocently. "Nothing, nothing's wrong with me."

"You're walking strange."

"No I'm not."

"And you're doing that weird thing where you don't look at me when you talk. Mari what's-"

They stopped in front of the lounge and Mari turned to her friend suddenly, placing her hands on Shayera's shoulders. "Keep in mind Diana, Dinah, and I had nothing to do with this."

"What are you..." Shayera trailed off when she remembered her and John's previous conversation from the other day. Her eyes widened and she murmured, "Oh no, please tell me there is _not_ a baby shower in there."

"At least look surprised," Mari ordered, as the door opened to reveal Courtney smiling brilliantly at the center of the group of: herself, Diana, Beatriz, and Dinah.

Upon seeing Shayera, Courtney and Beatriz trilled, "Surprise!"

"You five are dead," Shayera breathed out to Mari.

"Nothing to do with this," She mumbled through a tight grin, grasping the Thanagarian's arm as she pulled her in.

Shayera noticed as both Diana and Dinah mouthed _"we're sorry"_ to her.

"Are you surprised?" Courtney pressed cheerfully, placing an unwanted hand on Shayera's arm.

"Nearly to death," Shayera sarcastically replied.

"I know you didn't want anything. Vixen, Black Canary, and Wonder Woman made that clear but who doesn't want a baby shower?" Courtney rhetorically asked.

To herself Shayera thought, _me_.

Ignoring Shayera's unsmiling countenance Beatriz butted in with, "You _must_ have wanted a baby shower so Courtney and I threw this together! Don't worry it was super simple. Just a few calls to get this place closed off for the next hour or two, a dash of confetti, and wham! Baby shower done!"

Courtney clapped her hands together while Shayera mumbled, "It's at times like this where I wish I could still drink."

* * *

Three hours later Shayera and Mari sat in the lounge, curled over the table as they ate the last of the baby shower cake. Shayera shoveled a forkful into her mouth and mumbled, "You know, that shower wasn't a half bad idea after all. This cake," She gestured to the decimated slice as she swallowed, "This cake Courtney made is actually pretty good."

"So you admit it, you actually enjoyed the shower," Mari said, pointing her empty fork accusingly at her friend. "You wanted to be a hater but in the end you were a believer."

"I was not a believer," Shayera argued. "I will only admit that it ended up not being a terrible time but I would have been just fine without one."

"But you wouldn't have this cake if it weren't for the baby shower," She pointed out.

Shayera lifted an eyebrow as she said, "Oh if we're speaking purely of cake then I am totally for the shower, 100%. It satisfied my sugar craving for the day."

The door opened and Wally sped in and took one look at the cake before going straight to the fridge. He pulled open the small door and groaned loudly when he found the fridge empty. He spun around and said, "Were those the last two pieces?"

"You bet," Shayera said, as they got up to throw the plates away.

Wally pouted and stalked out of the room, the door hissing as it closed behind him. Shayera and Mari exchanged valiant grins.

Shayera moved forward and hugged her friend, catching Mari by surprise. She laughed lightly and said, "I thought you didn't hug."

"Shut up, it's the hormones," Shayera mumbled as she released her.

"You know, if I didn't know any better I would say that you completely enjoyed all this."

Shayera offered a fraction of a smile and retorted, "If I didn't know any better, I would say that I did too."


	31. Wally Claus

**A/N:** I recently watched _Christmas With the Kranks_ on HBO and thought of this. I have seriously been on a roll.

* * *

It was Emma's first Christmas and one of the many parenting tiffs surfaced when John told Shayera he wanted their daughter to take pictures with the local mall's Santa.

Shayera was flipping through a magazine and snorted, not bothering to look up as she said, "That's a joke, right?"

"No, it's not."

She looked up and waited for the punch line, the laugh. Because she knew her smart, logical husband could not really be suggesting they go sit their seven-month-old child, _their baby_ , on a stranger's lap. Several moments of silence and still no luck.

"You're not joking, are you?"

"I did it every year when I was a kid," He argued.

"Did what?'

"Sat on Santa's lap."

"No, you sat on some strange man's lap, pretending to be some fat guy that doesn't even exist, who happened to be wearing a Santa suit John," Shayera argued, propping her elbow on the table and resting her head on her hand.

John sighed, "I don't see what the problem is. Nothing is going to happen Shay."

"Blame Thanagarian society for making your wonderful, paranoid wife. I don't want our kid on some stranger's lap," She said firmly.

"Think how nice the pictures would be," John said, trying to think of the best angle to use on his wife. "We could send them to the other founders. I bet they would love them."

"The only way you're getting those pictures is if you dress Wally in a Santa suit. Otherwise, tough luck."

* * *

When Shayera had quipped that the only way her daughter was taking a picture with Santa was if Wally was wearing the infamous suit, she had been joking. It had been one of her dry, sarcastic comments. It was not meant to be taken seriously. Instead, John had taken the comment and ran.

Shayera sat in the living room, Emma on her knee as they watched the _Wiggles_. Shayera thought the show was idiotic but her daughter was oddly entranced by the men dressed in primary colors so she really couldn't complain. She looked to the door when she heard it open and stared for a moment, not believing her eyes.

Why was Wally in her apartment? More importantly, why was he wearing a Santa suit? She recalled her earlier conversation with John and frowned. Dropping her mouth to her daughter's ear she murmured, "Mommy is very sorry for what is about to happen to you Emma." She looked up at John and said, "Alright, let's get this over with."

"You're not arguing?" He asked, surprised.

"I stay true to my word and I told you if you got Wally to dress up as Santa, Emma could take pictures with him." She rose from the couch, propping Emma on her hip as she walked into the kitchen to retrieve the camera.

"I cant' believe I'm doing this," Wally complained.

"Why exactly are you?" Shayera asked, handing John the camera as she looked at him and said, "Let me guess, Bruce refused and Clark was busy?"

"And I apparently wasn't," Wally said glumly. "It was this or taking both of your monitor duties for a week." A bit of the beard got caught in his mouth and he spit angrily, tugging at the beard as he snapped, "Alright, let's get this over with. This suit is flippin' hot."

"Sit down," John directed, pointing to the seat beside the Christmas tree.

Shayera watched Wally sit down, remembering how she and John had fought for a good week over that stupid tree. He had won and as she walked over to Wally and handed over her child, she thought that John was winning an awful lot lately.

"We'll just take a few," John said, adjusting the camera setting. "We can put this on the Christmas cards."

"Excuse me?" Shayera said, turning to him with her hands on her hips. "Christmas cards? And since when do we send out those?"

"Shayera, could you get our daughter to look at the camera?" John asked, ignoring her question. She frowned and turned toward Wally and Emma, unable to stop herself from smiling slightly when she saw Emma's small hands pulling at Wally's fake beard.

"Hey kid, no touching," He said, trying to tug the beard away. "What are you? Hey," He looked up at John and Shayera, "Make your kid behave!"

"Emma," Shayera called out, "Hands to yourself."

"Oh right, because that'll work," Wally sniped but his remark was proven invalid as the small child dropped her hand.

"Alright, Emma, look at the camera," Shayera said, her voice dangerously close to a coo. "Ignore Uncle Wally and look at the camera honey."

Despite their best efforts, their daughter was having none of it. She became entranced by Wally's fake beard again, pulling and tugging. It didn't help that Wally was as fussy as Emma, constantly complaining, "Have you got a good one yet?"

Miraculously, despite the two misbehaving, one acting her age and the other not, John managed to get one good picture. Wally's smile was a bit wonky but Emma was looking directly at the camera, smiling wide.

"Alright," John said, turning off the camera. "You're done hotshot."

"Finally," Wally sighed, getting up from the chair. As he carried Emma back to Shayera, the baby reached forward, taking a hold of his nose. He laughed despite his general irritation, twisting his face away from the little kid's grasp.

"That kid has your annoying persistence," Wally noted wryly, handing Emma over to her mother.

Shayera took Emma and kissed her cheek before proudly saying, "You bet she does."

"Thanks for suiting up man," John said with an easy grin. "I got your monitor duty covered for the week. Consider it like a mini vacation."

"It better be a good one," Wally grabbed his bag, tossing it over his shoulder, much like St. Nick, as he trudged out of their apartment.

Shayera chuckled, plopping back onto the couch as she said, "I can't believe you got him to go through with that."

"The picture is perfect Shay. Look at it." He sat next to her, showing her the picture on the camera. She wanted to tell him that it wasn't adorable. That their daughter did not look like the cutest baby she had laid eyes on but she couldn't lie. It was a good picture.

"Did you really blackmail him into it?" Shayera asked after a second.

"I learned from the best," He stated as she smirked. "I also figured it would be easier than trying to convince Bruce or waiting for Clark not to be dealing with a planetary disaster."

"You know, that was pretty genius."

He grinned and gave her a quick kiss. "Your husband is resourceful, remember?"


	32. Taking it Slow

**A/N:** Set shortly after Wild Cards.

* * *

"Let's take it slow," Shayera said, as she rested a hand on his shoulder.

They were both seated on his couch. She'd just polished off her fifth cup of coffee. It was a decaffeinated blend John had forced on her after he noticed her addiction to the caffeinated drink. She'd decided to appease him by substituting quality for quantity but to no avail. He'd observed her stifling several yawns. Her hand would go up to gently pinch the bridge of her nose. Her head bowed down a little to hide the tension in her jaw as she tried to keep the yawn from escaping her lips. He caught her each and every time.

"Slow?" he replied. "It took this long for us to confess how we felt about each other. How much slower can we get Shayera?"

She sighed. "I know but I don't think we should exactly be traveling at warp speed when it comes to this. Just a little...discretion maybe."

"Like if it were our little secret?" He asked

She nodded, "Exactly."

It was John's turn to sigh, "Alright but you have to promise me something."

"What?"

"When we let them know, will you let me openly show how I feel about you?"

Shayera gave him a puzzled look as she tilted her head to the side slightly, "Like how?"

"Like how normal couples do on Earth. Letting me kiss you in public, just hold you for no reason, stuff like that."

"Public displays of affection?" She chuckled. "Sounds pretty intriguing to me. Ok Lantern, feel free to stake your claim when we let them know."

"Seriously?"

"Of course but for now we-" She was cutoff.

"We take it slow." The disappointment was palpable in his voice.

"No need to sound like I've sentenced you to the...what do you call it, the brig?"

"You might as well have. It's not going to be easy for me to act normal around you now that we've transcended friendship."

"You'll manage. If you play the part well enough, I just might have something for you at the end of each day." Her eyes were sultry and her smile had a devilish edge.

"Really, now?" he said, returning her grin. She tried to keep her expression seductive but it was difficult. A yawn soon contorted her face and he struggled not to laugh at her.

"Stupid decaf you made me drink," She said, her voice heavy with a desire to rest. "I am going back to caffeinated tomorrow."

"So," He started. "I guess you'll be going back to Midway City then?"

"Eager to get me out of here?"

"Not at all but since we're taking it slow, it wouldn't exactly be advisable to have you spend the night at my place so soon. The others might assume things."

That devilish smile returned to her face. "Let them assume away. It'll make it easier to confess to them when the time is right."

John watched her as she stretched, "Shayera?"

"Good night John. Consider this your punishment for serving me decaf." She leaned into him and whispered huskily into his ear. "Now if you hadn't given me decaf..."

She didn't finish the statement. She left a kiss on his cheek as she rose from the couch. Before he knew it, she was in his bedroom and had locked the door. Damn it, they weren't even a serious couple yet and she was already forcing him to sleep on the couch. So much for taking it slow...


	33. Babies, Cake, and Eggs

Being a parent was supposed to be rewarding. Most of the time it was, except when Shayera liked to be the 'fun' parent and let John be the 'mean' parent. He didn't like fighting with his son or his daughter. His daughter especially. She didn't like to give up a fight. His son on the other hand would give him a puppy eyes look which normally got him his way. He knew how to tug at the heartstrings to get what he wanted.

Either way John lost any and all arguments against them.

Rex and Emma, unfortunately for John, had always been curious children. Both of them took after their mother with their brains and looks but their personalities differed greatly. Rex acted more like John, when he was his age, than anything else. Emma, on the other hand, had Shayera's spitfire attitude and temper. Rex was laid back and generally collected while Emma was high strung and quite vocal.

"John..."

John eyed his wife, her face red from laughter. Their six-year-old daughter sat next to her on their bed with a frown on her face not understanding the joke between her parents.

In the many years he had known Shayera he had never seen nor heard her laugh so loudly before. She had thrown herself on the bed, definitely out of character for his wife, and _laughed_. She laughed and she laughed and she laughed. She had struggled to breathe as John's world crashed around him.

His wife had definitely gone mad. John sighed and stared at his daughter. He tried to calm himself down.

When Emma had been born and he had first laid eyes on her, John had told himself his daughter was not allowed to grow-up. She wouldn't be allowed to like boys; they would _always_ have cooties, he would tell her. She wouldn't even _think_ about going on dates or wearing revealing dresses. Interaction with the opposite sex was out of the question.

John knew it was insane. He knew it wouldn't work out because he knew that his daughter would one day meet a boy and that boy would corrupt his innocent angel and he'd want to throw her in a convent for protection.

He was ready for it.

Well...

What he wasn't ready for was his daughter to drop this bomb on his head so soon.

"Daddy!" she dragged out the 'y' and kicked her legs on the bed, "Where do babies come from?"

Shayera started howling with laughter again and John gave her a sharp look. So much for 'team parenting'. His wife had promptly said, "This one is for you," and then busted out laughing when John's facial expression turned very uncomfortable.

He probably shouldn't have abandoned Shayera last night when it had taken her over three hours to get Rex to sleep with long adventurous tales about super heroes beating up bad guys while he had only had to give Emma a quick kiss on the forehead and mumble a, 'sweet dreams'.

John wondered if he could tell Emma that babies didn't exist. That they were a figment of her imagination. He currently wished they were a figment of _his_ imagination.

"I...uh...Emma um..."

"You do know, don't you Daddy?"

Shayera snorted. She was going to pay for her reactions later but for now John ignored her. Emma was always questioning his intelligence. His mind was reeling as he figured out something proper to say.

He didn't want to scare his daughter with the facts. Of course he knew where babies came from, he had created her, hadn't he? He didn't think it would be appropriate to tell her she was conceived after a night of heavy alcohol consumption by both of her parents and John idiotically thinking there wasn't a chance Shayera could get pregnant if they were both under the influence. Well Shayera was only buzzed but she had managed to get John pretty toasted.

"Of course I know," He snapped with a huff, "I know everything."

Emma raised her eyebrow unconvinced. She folded her arms over her chest and waited for her father to answer the question. John racked his brain, wishing he had read the parenting books Shayera had gotten. Instead they were collecting dust somewhere unknown to him.

What did they always say?

 _Tell the truth_?

Emma's emerald eyes shined as she stared at her father. _Fat chance_ , he was _not_ going to tell her the truth. The less she knew, the better.

So he said with a grin, "Babies are made...in the...um...pharmacy?" Shayera stared at him with raised eyebrows and shook her head. Emma didn't say anything, her lips were pursed together in a tight line and she cocked her head to the side, giving her father an incredulous look. John faltered underneath her gaze and quickly blurted out, "How about some ice cream?"

John was certain he could use food to get out of any situation.

"Yay!" Emma nodded her head and hopped off the bed, bee lining to the kitchen. John grinned and gave Shayera a wink.

"Father of the year right here," He said, patting himself on the chest. Shayera rolled her eyes in response.

* * *

Emma Stewart was less than amused when she found out her father had been lying to her. John was going to have to kill Wally later. She kicked her legs that dangled from the chair in their kitchen and crossed her arms, glaring at her father.

She resembled an angry Shayera and that was one person John _really_ never liked to see upset.

"Emma..." He mumbled, trying to think of something to say. Shayera had refused to help him out.

"Daddy," She said with a scowl, "You _lied_! Mommy says lying is bad. Mommy says that only bad people lie and that—"

John held up his hand to silence his daughter. He cursed in his head, clearly Shayera said too _much_. "Emma, I'm not a liar. Daddy is the only man you can trust. Remember that. Look," He started with an exasperated sigh, What do you want to know?"

She shook her head and very slowly said, "Where do babies come from?" At this point Emma figured her father really didn't know either. "How do they get here?"

John paused trying to think of something to say. His eyes dropped to the table in front of him, swallowing slowly as Emma closely watched him. He tried to think about how he had learned all about sex and babies but that just made his ears burn and he shifted uncomfortably in his seat. That had been one awkward conversation with his grandmother.

"Ask me again in forty years."

"I want to know _now_!" Emma shouted hotly.

There really wasn't anything that could match the ferocity of his daughter's temper tantrums.

John groaned in defeat and then scooted away from his daughter. He didn't know if it was appropriate for him to hold her little hand and say, 'Well honey, the truth is Mommy and Daddy have-'. He couldn't even _think_ of a proper word in his head. Not one that he could use around his little girl.

"Well," He began nervously. Emma watched him with big eyes and pouted her lower lip. "When a Mommy and Daddy...err..get married...they have babies and everyone is happy," He clapped his hands together to signal that was the end of the story and grinned. "How about some cake for dinner?" He asked brightly.

Emma scowled. "But _how_?"

John thought for a moment. He wondered if he could say from magic but even he knew that was a terrible explanation. He also didn't want his daughter to be nervous every time she was around Zatanna, Doctor Fate, or any other magic wielder in the Justice League with worries that she would easily get pregnant.

"You know," He mumbled. By the angry look on Emma's face, he guessed she really didn't know. He sighed as he concocted a story, "They wander about...take a stroll through the park and just...snatch some babies." He blurted out.

She scrunched up her nose in confusion and John sighed. He really wouldn't be worried if his daughter was afraid to go to the park anymore.

"I'm confused," Emma stated. Truthfully he was too.

"How about that cake then?" He asked.

Emma glared at her father and shook her head defiantly. "Daddy!"

John raised his hands in the air as surrender. "Okay, okay. How do I explain this?" He paused and then got up from his chair, his daughter's eyes watching his every movement. He walked over towards the refrigerator and then to the cabinets, removing bowls and different ingredients.

Emma watched him go on for a good five minutes, walking back and forth very slowly to the table and then to the cupboard to take something out and then put it down. He grumbled to himself, going over in his head what he was going to say.

Finally he stopped moving around and fumbled with one large silver bowl and one medium sized silver bowl.

"Having a baby is like baking a cake," he declared.

Emma's eyes opened wide and she stared at her father with horror, "My birthday cake was a _baby_!"

John swore under his breath as her emerald eyes filled with tears and nervously waved his hands in front of her face as if that would stop her from crying. "No! We don't eat babies! Err...babies come from love?"

Emma glared at him, face quickly turning red and she balled up her fists with anger. "You just said they come from baking a cake!" She shouted. "Liar! Liar! Liar!"

She watched as her father nervously looked at and then set two silver bowls next to each other, one large one and one medium sized one. He tapped the bowl with his finger and then eyed the sack of flour in thought.

"No...they do. It's sorta like uh...we have a mommy bowl and we have a daddy bowl, okay?"

Emma crossed her arms against her chest and gave her father a soft, "Hm."

His hands shook as he opened the sack of flour. "And the mommy bowl and daddy bowl have different...um...ingredients."

John was certain he was _never_ going to eat cake again.

He watched as Emma's eyes shined with excitement and she leaned over the kitchen table, hands clamped together with interest. "Like what?" she asked, peering into the empty bowl. "Sprinkles?"

"Well," He muttered weakly to himself trying to find the best route for him to continue with his explanation. "Sure! The bowls have sprinkles and..." He stared at a can of whipped cream that was near him and instead grabbed the flour and sugar.

Emma watched as he poured flour into one bowl and sugar into another, her small hands scooping up some sugar and shoving it into her mouth. John figured Shayera could deal with the aftereffects later.

"The bowls have flour, sugar, and milk and they mix the two together and then..." He spilled the sugar and milk he had poured into the smaller bowl into the larger one and watched in disgust as it bubbled slightly. "In a certain amount of time the baby bakes-I mean _grows._ "

With sugary hands and a scowl on her face, Emma sat back in her chair and said, "But how could a bird make a baby if she has no thumbs? What about fish and how to dogs make puppies then?"

John paused, forgetting the concoction in front of him. He gaped at his daughter, what kind of imagination did she have?

"Emma, _why_ do you want to know where babies come from? Where do _you_ think they come from?"

Emma hummed to herself and then she giggled, leaning against her father's leg and hugging her arms around him. "I knew you didn't really know, Daddy. I don't know either. Last week I saw a TV show about little baby birdies," Her eyes twinkled with excitement as she told him the story. "Do you think the mommy birdy used eggs in _her_ cake? That's why they're slimy and funny looking?"

John grinned, "Sweetheart, all birds lay eggs and those little funny looking birds hatched from those eggs. So baby birds do come from eggs."

Emma blanched and squeezed her father tightly. "Did Mommy lay an egg then?" she asked with a slight tremble. "She's part bird, isn't she?"

John cleared his throat. Neither Emma or Rex were aware of the fact that their mother was not a human and not from Earth. John and Shayera weren't worried about explaining that to their children. What they didn't know how to explain was the Thanagarian Invasion but that was something they could worry about later.

"Well, did she have to lay an egg?"

John coughed to stop himself from laughing, remembering all of Wally's terrible bird jokes, and bent down to give his daughter a kiss on the forehead. "Trust me she didn't lay any eggs," he said reassuringly. She stared up at him with a hopeful smile. "Just think of the outcome. I got you and Rex, didn't I? You can ask Mommy all about it." Though according to his wife, it was more like giving birth to watermelons than babies.

* * *

That week Shayera kept asking John why Emma continuously asked her if she laid eggs, what type of bird she was if she didn't lay eggs, and why she had a meltdown when they ate scrambled eggs one morning. Ranting and raving about baby birds and eggs.

John response was just a shake of his head as he looked at her in amusement. John decided that, when Rex asked where babies came from, Shayera could field the question.


	34. One Smile Makes the Difference

**A/N:** Set shortly before Chapter 19 _A Change in Fate_.

* * *

It was one of those days when John was miserable and cranky. There was no other way to describe it. He was just plain old cranky.

So the first reason he was cranky because he hadn't had enough sleep.

No matter how much reassurance she gave him, John wouldn't stop fussing over Shayera every five seconds. No matter what she said he was still worried that she would get hurt somehow or that she could go into labor at any second. And worrying about her cost him sleep.

And then his first coffee of the day had burnt his tongue and it was still hurting. Every time he opened his mouth it stung.

He had previously hurt his right shoulder and arm on a mission the day before so both his shoulder and arm were very sore. The bandages made his arm itch and he felt sluggish still and it was almost midday.

He'd gotten chewed out during a monitor duty shift that wasn't even his, as he covered for Shayera, for being inattentive. But was it his fault that he _had_ to worry about his pregnant wife during every waking hour of the day? Was it his fault that he _needed_ to pass out during the monitor shift because he hadn't slept in days?

Of course it wasn't his fault.

Then he was called off for a mission. He thought it would be simple but no. Halfway through the mission it had begun to rain, basically a torrential downpour, and he had gotten drenched. The dripping sounds had annoyed him even more than before. The water dripped down his already soaked back and made him flinch every time another drop of cold water found its way under his collar.

People he usually got along with fine irritated him. He found himself snapping at Stargirl in the elevator and then at Vigilante when the cowboy accidentally bumped in to him. Even Wally's usual cheery attitude didn't seem as refreshing as it usually was.

Then he couldn't concentrate on the current monitor shift he was on, which he had gotten early to and was originally one of Shayera's once again, and it irritated him further. He stood and paced but only ended up banging his knee on the monitor desk. Needless to say this irritated him further.

"Shouldn't you be at home relaxing John? I told you not to worry. I've got this covered."

Then he heard _her_ voice. He turned his head. There she was standing there with her hands on her hips, looking a bit disappointed to find him there when she wanted him to have some relaxing, alone time at home. Her emerald eyes were wide and showed the myriad of emotions she was experiencing on a daily basis from having way too much estrogen and progesterone in her body. She looked fatigued but the smile on her face made her glow and it warmed his heart at the same time.

He turned to fully face her and suddenly his day couldn't have gotten any better.


	35. Book's End

"Oh good, there you are. I just wanted to make sure you-" John stopped abruptly, eyes fixed on the suitcase Mari was currently filling with clothes. "Mari, what's going on?"

She continued her task, not even bothering to look at him as she responded flatly, "I'm leaving."

His eyes remained focused on the bag as his breath caught in his chest. "Mari, we should at least discuss this before you-"

"There's nothing to discuss. It's about what happened on our mission and what I realized," She glanced up at him taking in his alarmed features and shook her head. "It doesn't matter what it's about. I've already made up my mind. Like a book, no matter how many good or bad parts it had, I saw it through to the end. There's nothing left, no more chapters for us John. It's over for us."

John could hardly breathe, so many questions were swirling in his head. He felt his pulse quicken and he began to feel lightheaded. He couldn't lose her too. "Why? Why are you doing this? I thought...I...you told me you loved me!" It comes out as a frustrated exhale, his emotions breaching their careful containment.

"And I meant it," She gently said, finally ceasing her movement and facing him.

Dragging his gaze from the bed, the neat stacks of her familiar clothes, John's glowing eyes met hers. "Then how can you do this?"

Sighing, Mari dropped the shirt she's been holding on top of the open bag. "You never said it back."

"What?" He asked in confusion.

Closing her eyes, Mari sighed. "I made a mistake. I let myself fall in love with you. I shouldn't have done that."

"Why does it have to be a mistake? I thought you loved me," He whispered, sounding broken and desperate.

"I do but one day you're going to wake up and realize I'm not the one you truly love and that you're making a huge mistake," She paused, gathering her resolve. "I love you enough to walk away right now before one of us really gets hurt."

"I don't want you to go Mari."

"Do you still love her?" There was an unmistakable gravity to her words.

" _Mari_."

"Just answer the question. _Do you still love her?_ " John flinched at the force behind her words.

"Mari, what does it matter? What Shayera and I had ended a long time ago." He reached out to her but she backed away from the contact.

"You just answered my question. I knew I was fooling myself. I was always the #2 girl to you, the rebound girl. I knew that from the very beginning yet I stuck with you," She sighed. "You're obsessed with her John. You need _her_ in your life, not me. I'm not going to sit here while you pine over another woman."

"Mari you weren't-"

"Some part of you will always love her even if you are with me. I could live with that because we all have exes that we still have some feelings for afterwards. But whatever this is between us anymore, it's not healthy. It's never going to last if you refuse to acknowledge the fact that you still have feelings for Shayera, feelings that outweigh the ones you may have for me. It'd just be setting us both up for a nasty fall. Heck, I don't even know if you truly did love me or if you were just lying to me and yourself."

John shook his head in disbelief, unable to formulate a response. His mind was reeling and he felt as though the air has suddenly rushed out of his lungs. "Mari wait."

"She'll still be here when you figure it out. Just don't screw it up with her. She needs this more than you do."

He wanted to tell her that she was wrong and to stay with him but the words remained stuck in his throat. John stared at the closed door.

She was already gone and he slowly began to realize that she was right.


	36. Of Video Games and Arguments

_It was a moment of dire crisis and the wounded warrior felt the sting of his wounds as he pressed on through the dusty stone hallway. His vision was obscured by the trickles of blood that had streamed down his face, making him wince as he brought his hand up to wipe it off. He had to keep alert for any other surprises that the dark wizard that awaited him at the end of the dungeon may have lying in wait._

_Before long he came to a large wooden door at the end of the hallway. Exhausted, the warrior leaned on the wall next to the door. His hand grasped at his side where he felt the large gash in his ribs. He clutched his sword tightly as he desperately tried not to think of how much pain his injury was causing him. Regaining his senses, he reached for the door._

_Without warning, the ground fell from beneath him. His hand snagged the handle of the door just in time to keep himself from tumbling down with the fake flooring that had caved away. His sword came free from his other hand and he heard it plummet downward, bouncing off the walls and making a loud crash as it finally hit the bottom of the pit. The warrior looked down into the depths of this new trap he had sprung and saw nothing but blackness._

_The strain of his body's weight was tearing the bloody wound in his side further. Pain flared from within his tired bones and muscles and the warrior found his grip weakening. He reached with all his strength for the doorknob with his free hand, but before he could take hold, there was a loud snap and the knob came free from the door, releasing the hero to fall into the void beneath him._

* * *

"No!" Rex shouted as he jerked the controller in frustration. It was too late however. The _Demon's Eye_ "game over" screen faded onto the television set accompanied with very morbid sounding game music.

Rex threw the controller on the floor and lunged forward at the console, jamming his finger on the power switch as hard as he could. The screen flashed and was emptied into blackness. He sat back and stared at the floor pouting. It didn't help that his father was away on a GL assignment and his mother was called away roughly two hours ago on a League mission. His sister had shortly gotten home after their mother had left as she had to stay late today at school because she was starting some kind of project for History class. Something about writing a report on the history of any member of the Justice League. All Rex knew was that she was doing hers on their mother. But she was in such a terrible mood when she got home that he didn't even bother to ask her to play a game with him. If only he had someone to do something with he wouldn't be losing to this stupid video game _again_!

This wasn't the first time Rex Stewart had gotten mad at his video game console since he had gotten it for his eleventh birthday six months ago. He didn't like to lose. It was simple as that. The first time he had gotten mad at it, his mother had turned it off and told him not to play it anymore. He didn't listen of course. One time he got so mad at one of his games, he decided to punish the game by hiding it in his father's sock drawer and not allowing it to be played for a month. That idle threat didn't stop him for more than a day or two either.

This case wasn't as bad. He wasn't frustrated enough to take authoritative action over his games this time. He popped the _Demon's Eye_ disc out of his console and grabbed _Magician's Land 2_ from the shelf next to his television. He was just sliding it into his game console when he heard his parents' door being opened down the hallway.

"Mom's back," Rex said to himself as the game started up. He picked up the controller and began playing again. He had played and beaten _Magician's Land 2_ a lot of times already but he didn't care. The game was so long it always took him a few weeks to get through it and he was out to try to find some more of the hidden stuff he hadn't yet found in all the previous attempts.

He didn't get far beyond the title screen before there was a knock on his bedroom door. The door opened and Rex's mother came in.

"Hey Rex," she said as she entered.

"Hi Mom," Rex answered, his eyes never leaving the screen nor his hands the controller.

"What'cha doing?" Shayera asked as she planted a kiss on the top of his head.

"Nothing much," He finally paused the game and looked at his mother. She was wearing the same yellow and black tracksuit that she always wore but today it returned tattered. Now that Rex took notice of it, his mother was sporting a nasty looking bruise on her upper left cheek and she also had a cut on her bottom lip that was also sporting a bruise. She looked tired but was smiling softly as if nothing was wrong.

"Did you get all your homework done before starting your little quest?"

"Yup," Rex returned smiled. "All I had was math."

"Good," Shayera said as she glided her hand through Rex's short hair. "Is Emma home?"

Rex resumed his game and continued playing. "Yeah she came home right after you left." Shayera left out an exhausted sigh and left his room, leaving him to play his game. She pulled the door to his room and it came just shy of being closed.

Rex concentrated on searching through _Magician's Land 2_. He had already found two of the six special keys he needed to get into the mystery town but he had a lot of searching to do before he could get the other ones. The first two were always easy to find. He didn't really like wandering all over the place following difficult clues to try and find the stupid things but he really wanted to get into the mystery town this time.

"That's where all the really good stuff is," He said to himself.

As he searched, he could hear his mother and sister from Emma's room. His sister was talking loudly. He couldn't hear what they were saying but they were talking very fast and interrupting each other a lot. Finally he heard his sister yell out "DON'T START" so loud Rex could hear her clearly even over the sound of his game.

Rex paused the game, silencing it. He was a little nervous. Whenever his sister yelled like that, it usually meant he was in trouble for taking or breaking something of hers. Well he did borrow her notebook the other day and he may have damaged the spine of it a bit. Rex waited for his sister to come bursting in his room and start yelling at him. She didn't however but Rex could still hear his sister talking loudly.

They were talking about things he didn't understand. He could tell that they were arguing about something. He heard his sister say something about their mother being nothing but just a boldfaced liar and traitor. Shayera was trying to tell Emma something about how she didn't know the whole story.

Their voices quieted and Rex unpaused his game and continued playing. Rex didn't like to hear it when people fought so he pressed on through the world of _Magician's Land 2_ , avoiding as many of the monsters he could and collecting as much gold coins he could get his hands on. Once he had enough gold coins, he could trade them in for more clues about where the remaining four keys were, so he was sure not to leave a single area unchecked.

As he played along, Rex began to start thinking about what he would be doing in school the following week. It would be a Monday so that meant that he had gym class and English in the morning, then he would be doing math again in the afternoon. He hated math but he was looking forward to his gym class. And on Tuesdays he had-

"I HATE YOU" the loud voice of his sister startled Rex. He quickly paused _Magician's Land 2_ again and looked towards his doorway. His mother and sister were talking loud again and he began to really worry now. Both of them were trading fast snaps at each other, hollering about all kinds of things that he didn't understand.

"Why are they fighting?" He asked himself.

He remembered when this big kid Jack in his gym class called him a nerd and was threatening to beat him up one time during recess. Rex started yelling back at Jack to leave him alone but that didn't solve anything. Luckily the principle was out walking by the playground so Jack didn't bother attempting anything. That was different from what he was hearing down the hall though.

Rex sat in the silence of his room as the argument escalated and filled the whole apartment. He wondered if maybe he should go and ask the two of them what was the matter. He thought about it for a long time but just continued to sit and listen.

Minutes passed and still the argument continued in full speed. Rex got up and went to his door and closed it all the way shut. The sounds were muffled so much that he could no longer make out what they were saying at all but he could still hear them. He rushed over to his controller and unpaused the game again. He leaned forward and pushed the volume increase button on his television set. The bouncing game style music filled his room and Rex resumed his coin hunt, trying desperately not to think about what was going on outside his room.

He was having trouble getting around the monsters. Normally he had no problem just knocking them flat on their backs but Rex was constantly running into them and losing life. There was no frustration this time however. His attention was too focused on the possibilities of what his mother and sister were saying to each other.

He paused the game again, hoping to maybe hear if anything was happening. He quickly unpaused it again and played along a little more. As he continued along, he couldn't hear anything over the game's music but that didn't stop him from trying.

* * *

It was getting late now. Four hours or so had passed since his mother had gotten home and Rex knew that his bedtime was quickly approaching. His coin hunt was over and he was saving his game when he heard the sharp call of his mother from. "Rex, you should have been in bed already! You can play that game tomorrow!" She hollered towards his room. Rex could tell she was angry. His mother, more so his father, sometimes would get upset when he stayed up too late on a school night in his room. He wasn't about to not listen to her this night however, even if it wasn't a school night. Quickly, he turned the TV off and changed into his pajamas.

Rex opened his bedroom door and stepped out. The apartment was still and quiet. There was only the slightest bit of light coming from his sister's room. The boy stood in his doorway waiting...waiting for something to happen, or someone to say something. His hands were sweaty and he rubbed them on his pants.

"Where's Mom and Emma?" He wondered before finally walking down the hall to the bathroom. The white light of the bathroom's overhead light bulbs came on as Rex flicked the switch on the inside wall and closed the door. He saw himself in the mirror but only looked for a second. His attention was on the door once again and he listened keenly for whatever it was he had been waiting for while he was still standing in his bedroom doorway.

He turned away from the door and plucked his toothbrush out from the holder next to the sink. Dabbing a spurt of red, white, and green toothpaste on the top and then running it under the tap, Rex began brushing his teeth hastily but then paused momentarily. He didn't want to try and get away with just running his brush under the tap and returning it in order to save time, not tonight. His mother was in a foul mood thanks to his sister.

He brought his brush back into the scrubbing motions, moving it slowly back and forth across his teeth, slower than he had been doing before. He wondered if maybe Shayera and Emma had gotten so mad at each other that they had started to fight. 'But there wasn't a bang or loud noise,' He thought. If they were fighting like Jack and he had almost done, there would have been a bang, wouldn't there? But his mother would never hit him or his sister, no matter how angry she got. She would yell like there was no tomorrow but she never resorted to physical violence with them. She never even spanked them when they were younger and did something really bad.

Rex finished up in the bathroom. He clicked off the lights and paused for a second in the silent, dark bathroom, before opening the door. Down the hallway, past the door to his room, he could see the doorway to his parents' room. The door was closed but light was coming out from beneath the door frame. Rex could swear he heard something that sounded like muffled crying coming from the room. No it couldn't be that, his mother never cried. He never once saw or heard her cry. So it couldn't be that, not in a million years.

Slipping into his room, he closed his door again. He went over to his bed and pulled the covers away. He wasn't tired but he wanted to be asleep very badly at that moment. He wanted it to be morning and not this tense night that he was still a part of anymore. Sliding underneath the sheets, he reached over to his spaceship shaped lamp that was still on and clicked it off. He pulled the covers tight against his chest and sat there in his bed.

Rex began to listen. He wanted some idea of what was happening in the other parts of the apartment but there was nothing but silence for the longest time. It wasn't until he heard footsteps coming towards his room that he finally moved a little bit, turning himself over so that he was lying on his back.

There was a small sound of the door's handle being turned. He looked quickly to the door. There was a crack of light that widened as the door opened and his mother appeared behind it. "Did you brush your teeth?" She asked.

He nodded accordingly as his mother sat on his bed next to him. She smiled contently and looked at him. "Okay, goodnight Rex." She kissed him on the forehead like she did every night. She then hugged him, a bit too tightly for Rex's comfort, and he heard her shakily exhale as she finally released him after a few moments. As she rose, she peered across the room. He turned his head over to try and see what she was looking at.

"You left your game on again. Turn it off before you go to bed." She reached for his door.

"Mom?" Rex almost whispered.

She slowly turned back to look at him. "Yes honey?"

"Um..." Rex at that moment noticed that his mother's eyes looked puffy and he realized she _had_ been crying. Now he wasn't sure what he wanted to say. He felt the same way he did when he was called on during class to answer a question he didn't know.

His mother's smile slowly withered but she spoke softly, the way he always liked hearing it. "Don't worry, Rex. Everything is okay. Go to sleep, we'll talk about it tomorrow." She didn't say anything else. The door was closed and Rex was in his room alone. He heard the sound of his mother clearing her throat and then a few seconds later he heard the same muffled crying sound again.

Rex waited until he heard the door, to his mother's room, shut before reaching over to his lamp again. He switched it back on. He looked over at his game console and saw that the little red light was still shining. He climbed out of bed and went over to his television. He turned it on and waited for the screen to come to life. The screen lit up slowly in the stillness of his room with a giant "PAUSE" label in the middle of it. He must have forgotten to actually turn the system off after he finished saving his game for some reason.

Rex stared at the screen for a short while. He believed his mother. Everything would probably be alright tomorrow. He would get up early in the morning like he did every morning and have his breakfast before playing his game again. His dad was probably going to be back some time tomorrow afternoon or evening. Hopefully his sister would be in a better mood tomorrow and he could play a game with her.

He pressed the power switch and watched as the _Magician's Land 2_ images on the set turned to a black screen. He then turned the television's power back off and returned to bed.

Lying there in his room, Rex closed his eyes but not his ears. He was still listening but didn't hear anything else that entire night. All he did was remember that his mother had told him everything was going to be alright. He replayed that message in his mind over and over and it wasn't until just before he actually fell asleep that he finally believed it completely.


	37. In Her Shadow

Rex supposed that this was something all younger brothers and sisters felt at some point in their lives. It was some sort of nightmare, always settled into the back of their minds, eating away at their subconscious, building the pressure placed upon their shoulders.

This was the kind of thing Rex dreaded whenever he walked into school. His fourth grade teacher was the same teacher that Emma had two years ago. That was the way it had been since kindergarten but it had never been a problem before today. The possibility of such an event had only been a nagging fear and he had prayed it would stay that way.

But the 61% on the paper in front of him and the echoing words of the middle-aged woman pulled him into every younger sibling's nightmare.

"I was expecting more from you. Your sister was so bright."

How could anyone expect anything from Emma Stewart's brother? Sometimes, that's all Rex was, Emma's little brother who would never ever be as great as she was.

Like so many other younger siblings, Rex was living with a legacy over his head. And a D- on his math test had brought that reality back into focus.

"How did you do?" The blond girl whispered from beside him, the traces of a grin on her face. Of course Amy would do great. She always had a knack for floating through things and still succeeding without trying. Not to mention, Amy was the oldest in her family. Setting her own expectations, dooming her _two_ younger sisters to be like Rex, stuck in someone else's footsteps.

"Not too bad," He answered vaguely, turning the paper over before pulling his folder out and shoving the test inside. He tried to flash his friend a smile but failed and only produced a grimace.

"Well I got _another_ A," She stated triumphantly, waving the paper in Rex's face and pulling it away before he could read anything. The girl started blabbering on about something pointless as Rex turned back towards the chalkboard, his head hanging low.

What was he going to tell his parents? What _could_ he tell his parents? How does a person tell their mom and dad that they had failed to be as fantastic as their older sister, the one person they strove to be like? Emma was good at everything. She could easily ace all of her classes, she wasn't shy or awkward like he was, and she could play any sport while he was still struggling to do a simple push-up.

Insignificant. That's how Rex was feeling right now. He was unimportant compared to the perfectness of Emma. The thought consumed him through the rest of the day, distracting him from History, his favorite subject, and causing his best friend, Kevin, to ignore him during lunch and recess.

* * *

Rex dreaded the thought of going home. Thankfully that was not going to happen for at least another two hours, unless their father got off of his monitor duty early, but that didn't stop him from worrying. Instead he sat in the rec room of the Metro Tower; no one could even hear him breathe he was so quiet.

Emma immediately noticed her younger brother's preoccupied mind. Rex's eyes were carefully avoiding hers. She knew something was wrong.

"What's wrong Rex?" She asked, idly kicking a crumpled up ball of paper to the other side of the room.

Rex looked up and bit his lip; tears started to well up in his wide, emerald eyes. Emma stared at him, trying to think of something that could have happened to cause this reaction. "Rex," She hesitantly said, taking a step towards him. He could tell she was genuinely concerned as she continued, "What's wrong?"

Knowing that his sister was waiting for an explanation, and from experience he also knew that she wouldn't rest until she got one, Rex leaned over and grabbed one of the straps of his backpack. He pulled the dreaded test out of his stuffed folder and silently handed it over to Emma as he wiped his eyes. The eleven-year-old girl read the top of the paper and her eyes slowly widened. Rex waited for her to start making fun of him. For her to remind him of how stupid he was in comparison to her but she never did.

Instead Emma's face broke into a bright grin and a small laugh escaped her lips.

"Finally!" She said, still beaming, glancing up at her brother. His eye brows had knitted together in a quizzical and almost angry way, upset at his sister's reaction. Was she really laughing at him?

"I mean," She said, explaining herself quickly. "This is the first time you've ever done anything wrong. I was starting to think you were some kind of robot or something."

"But you _never_ get bad grades," Rex said in a small voice, racking his brain to think of a time that his sister had ever failed at _anything_. He came up with nothing. "So how could _you_ ever worry about screwing up?"

"Are you kidding me? I was always worrying about screwing up because you never have. Just wait a minute." Emma grabbed her black backpack and plopped it on top of her knees, ripping the zipper open and digging through a pile of crumbled papers at the bottom. She pulled out three sheets and hastily flattened them on the floor before handing them to Rex. Her little brother read the grades with wide, bewildered eyes.

_46%_

_39%_

_28%_

"How did you manage to hide these from Mom and Dad?" He asked, smiling slightly as he looked up at Emma, whose eyes had taken on a look of pride at her own sneakiness.

"It takes a lot of practice. I probably have about four more like that in here," The sixth grader said as she eyed her bag. "It helps that Dad is too afraid of the mess in there to actually look through it but here," She crumbled Rex's test and shoved it deep into his backpack before zippering it shut. "At school tomorrow, slip it into the trash and clean out your own lunch when we get home. They'll never notice a thing." She held out the red and gold bag and he gratefully took it as he nodded. Emma then moved to sit in front of the TV. Rex was still smiling as he moved next to her on the sofa, forgetting his depression from earlier and not even minding the extra chore of cleaning his lunchbox.

And for just a minute, just one small moment, Rex completely forgot he was spending his life in the shadows left by his sister.

* * *

 **A/N:** I decided to do another Rex thing. Now I'm an only child so hopefully I got the whole sibling stuff right. Oh how I loved being an only child while in school. Though I was in the shadow of my mother, who could do nothing wrong when it came to school. So I guess it's similar to this situation.


	38. Needing You

It was dark outside, even though it probably wasn't even five in the afternoon yet. The light was on in her apartment so he knew she was there. So close, yet they couldn't have been further apart from each other.

Why did he let his insecurities take the best of him? Fear. That's what it all came down to. Fear of not being enough. Fear of not deserving her. She was everything. She showed him kindness and patience and love. She came to trust him and he wanted to offer her everything. But he'd let his fears overrule him. He'd hurt her, done exactly what he'd promised himself he'd never do.

The cold air swirled around him, making the light snowfall seem almost majestic. If this was any other day, he would've gladly taken a moment or two to truly appreciate and take in the dazzling sight before him. But not today. Today the hole in his chest was too painful. His heart was missing.

He had been foolish and stupid. He knew it the second the words had left his mouth. He hadn't meant a thing that he'd said that day. Ugly words that he'd had wrapped around himself. For what? Self-preservation. That's what he thought he had been doing. He thought he could protect himself and keep his heart closed off. But all that it had amounted to was hurt. Hurt that he'd caused the only girl he'd ever loved. The only girl he'd always love.

A week had passed and each passing day made the pain grow even more unbearable. He'd missed her presence and her sweet scent. The way her hair fell, the sparkle in her warm, bright eyes.

He could clearly remember the day he first saw her. It was engraved in his mind. That moment in time had changed his life forever.

He'd never felt as nervous as when he asked her out for the first time. She'd accepted, to his delight, and they slowly started dating. His heart had been hers the moment he'd seen her waiting for him in the Metro Tower on their first date. He just hadn't realized it then. Her eyes had lit up and a smile graced her lips as she came to _him_.

Six months passed and it seemed like the happiest time of his entire life.

And now here he was, standing outside her apartment building, in the middle of Metropolis, on Christmas Eve because he screwed up.

He'd been foolish to think he could keep his distance. He _did not_ want to spend Christmas without her. No, he _needed_ her. If he could be that lucky. And if he had it his way, he would never spend it without her.

He took a few deep breaths before he walked up the steps and buzzed her apartment.

"Hello?" Her voice sounded through the intercom.

His heart thudded when her sweet voice registered in his brain. He missed her so much. "It's me," He cleared his throat when his voice came out somewhat scratchy due to disuse.

There were a couple beats of silence; excruciating silence. She wouldn't shut him out, would she?

"What are you doing here?" She finally asked. Her voice was soft but he could still detect the reluctance and the hurt underneath.

He squeezed his eyes shut as he let out a shaky breath. "I'd like to see you. _Please_ ," He added. He _needed_ to see her.

She sighed, "Okay, fine."

Relief filled him. If she agreed to see him, he might still have a chance. Quickly he ran a hand through his dark hair and tried to get some of the snowflakes out. He turned and stepped down the stone steps. He eyed the steps; there was a thin layer of snow but probably not enough for her to slip on.

She appeared a few minutes later, bundled in her winter coat with a thick red scarf wrapped around her. She looked lovely. Her long, platinum blond hair fell over her shoulders, her blue eyes tentatively took him in.

"Hi," She said as she slowly descended down the few steps. "So what did you want?"

"I missed you." He blurted out. He missed her so much. He wanted to reach out and wrap her in his arms. But he knew he couldn't do that. Not right now.

She bit her lip as she awkwardly shifted her feet, as if not knowing what to say.

He was at a loss of words too. It wasn't as if he had an entire speech prepared for this moment. He just knew he was sorry, _so sorry_ , for everything he'd said the last time he'd seen her.

"Is there something wrong?" She finally asked after a moment of silence. "Is that why you came to see me?"

"What?" He blinked as he tried to clear his head. There were so many things whirling in his head, he hadn't realized he'd been staring at her all this time. All he knew was that he couldn't lose her. "I came to apologize." His eyes searched hers. They were shadowed and the hurt still showed. It broke his heart to see her like that. To be the cause of that. "I was being stubborn and stupid and I said things that I didn't mean, could never mean." Stupid words that pained him even when they left his mouth.

"You hurt me," The slight tremble in her voice just about killed him.

"I know and I'm sorry. I'm truthfully very sorry," Desperately, he reached for her hands that were slowly turning red due to the cold. He wrapped them in his, hope lifting when she didn't immediately pull away from his hold.

"None of it was true. You have to believe me," He pleaded. She had to believe him. He couldn't let go.

The hurt in her eyes sliced through his heart. "How can I believe you? After you threw my words back into my face."

She didn't trust him. Of course she didn't. He'd hurt her in the worst way possible. He threw her love back. The love he'd so desperately wanted to grasp and keep forever. "I was scared, ok?" The words rushed out of him. It was like their fate was hanging by a thin thread. "Scared of getting in too deep. Scared of never being enough for you, so I lashed out. I was a damn fool, acting like an asshole!"

She flinched slightly at his words and he nearly wanted to bite his tongue off. She never did like it whenever he cursed. He was going to make damn sure to never let an ugly word leave his mouth again. Especially if she took him back.

He rubbed their hands together, trying to keep her warm. "I realized that I was already in too deep and I didn't give a real fff-" he stopped himself before he could let the curse word escape his lips. "I don't care whether I am in too deep or not. Because I realized that you are all I'm ever going to need. I need your presence in my life. Your laughter, your love, _you_ ," He needed her like the earth needed the sun. She was the brightness in his life and he would wither away without her. "You _can_ trust me. Always. I'm not letting you down, not ever again."

He watched as her eyes watered and the first tear trailed down her face. Shit! He hadn't meant to make her cry. He didn't want to hurt her. He never wanted to hurt her. Not knowing what to do, he clumsily released one of her hands and quickly reached up to wipe the tears away. "I'm sorry. Please don't cry. I didn't mean to make you cry."

"I don't know what to say." She softly admitted as she gazed up at him with her tear-filled eyes.

Fear gripped his heart. "Say that you still love me. Tell me that I'm not too late!" Don't tell him that he screwed up his only chance at happiness. His hand still lingered on her cold rosy cheek, he couldn't bring himself to let her go.

Her eyes swept down before meeting his again. "Of course I still love you," She said, her voice barely audible.

She still loved him. His heart thudded in his chest and warmth slowly spread through him as a grin emerged on his features. Her love was a gift he was going to cherish forever.

"I love you," Her eyes widened slightly as she stared at him, visibly stunned. "I know I hurt you. I know how stupid I acted. I was wrong. I'm sorry. You're the best thing that's ever happened to me. Let me prove it to you."

"You're a great guy. You really are," She whispered, sniffling slightly.

Those words...she wasn't going to break up with him for good, was she? Fear slammed into him and his palms started to feel clammy despite the cold.

"And sometimes I feel like you don't know that," She continued. "You're pretty amazing, actually." She told him, while blushing. "And there are times that I think, 'what's he doing with me when he could have anyone he wanted'."

"What?" He blinked, unable to register her words. "Why would I want anyone else but you?" She was amazing. She was wonderful. Couldn't she see that?

She gently squeezed the hand that was still wrapped around hers. "I'm glad you're here. I missed you too."

"Y-you did?" He couldn't help the words that left his mouth.

She looked him straight in the eye. "Yes," Tentatively she took a step closer and he immediately held his arms open for her. Finally able to hold her again. "But you did hurt me a lot." She mumbled against his chest.

He held her tight against him. This whole scenario he had gotten himself in to was sounding a lot like a story he was told about years ago.

"But I understand it's difficult for you to open up and I understand how it feels as if you're not enough for someone."

He nodded. They'd talked about this before. He wasn't the type of person that easily let someone inside his life. But with her, he couldn't help it. He was different around her. He was better. "You're more than enough for me." He had to let her know that.

"You're more than enough for me too," She held him tight and he savored the feeling. "I want to be with you but I'm not sure if I could handle it if you hurt me again."

His heart squeezed. "Never again. I'm not making the same mistake twice. I want you Mareena."

She nodded against his chest and then looked up, a small smile on her face. Her eyes were still a little red, as was her nose, but she'd never looked more adorable. "Do you want to come inside Rex?"

* * *

He entered her apartment and immediately spotted the small tree they'd picked out the day he messed up everything. "You didn't decorate it." The tree seemed almost sad, sitting there in the corner.

Her smile turned a bit sad and it chipped his heart, "I didn't really feel like it. With all the crazy missions we've been having lately and all."

 _Because of him._ Unspoken words but he knew that was the reason why. He was a huge bastard. Needing to feel her again, he reached out and pulled her close, squeezing her against his chest. The way she wrapped her arms around him warmed his heart. There wasn't any hesitation. She wasn't wary of him anymore.

"Let's cheer this tree up... _together_."

She tilted her head back to look him in the eyes. Pleasure. It was a beautiful sight. "Really?"

He nodded. "Yeah."

"I've stored the Christmas ornaments you loaned me in the closet. Let me get them," Mareena flashed him a shy smile before disappearing into the hallway.

He surveyed her apartment and a pang shot through his heart when he noticed a box of pizza lying on her small dinner table. There wasn't a chance he was going to let her spend this evening eating pizza. She deserved more, a lot more. He stalked over to the table, grabbed the box and put it in the fridge. He was going to make her dinner. He looked into her fridge and noticed it was fully stocked. He could work with that, he decided.

She returned after a couple of minutes with a big clear plastic box. It was filled to the brim with cheery Christmas ornaments.

"Your father really had a good collection of these things," She said as she popped the lid open. She tucked a strand of blond hair behind her ear as she peered into the box.

Rex crouched down beside her and reached out and took a hold of a delicate gold Christmas bauble. It glistened underneath her living room light. "Yeah, Dad loved decorating for some reason," He admitted. He quickly shook his head to clear his thoughts. He glanced at her and smiled softly.

There was a hint of sadness in her eyes, for him. She put her hand on his arm. "I'm glad I can spend time with you," She whispered. "Ever since I was exiled to the surface world it's always been just me, trying to understand your ways and celebrate your holidays correctly. This is the first time I'm actually spending Christmas with someone. Everyone should have someone to spend this time of year with," She then paused and seemed to contemplate something. "Rex maybe...maybe we should invite your mother. I mean, Shayera always seems lonely, especially now that the holidays are here."

"Mareena, every year I try to get her to spend Christmas with me," Rex admitted as he exhaled, "Mom's not that big into holidays anymore; she rather be left alone. She once told me that Christmas was her favorite Earth holiday because of Dad. That's why she takes as many monitors duty shifts as possible on Christmas Eve and Christmas day. It's her special way of meshing out her feelings. She rather be on monitor duty and then smash all of the zeta-bots in the training facility into pieces than deal with the emotional toll the holidays bring her."

"I feel so sorry for her. She's just been so heartbroken that it makes me want to cry every time I see her but you must miss him too," Mareena whispered as she looked down with a sad expression taking over her features, "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have brought it up."

"Don't be, it's ok," Gently, he reached up to touch her face, to cup her neck as he leaned in and pressed his lips against hers for a soft kiss.

* * *

They decorated the tree together and he didn't think he'd ever smiled that much. She had put on a Christmas CD and they talked and laughed as they put up the ornaments. The tree became a center piece with its twinkling lights.

"I think we did a pretty good job," She said as she stepped back to admire their handiwork.

He agreed. It was the most beautiful tree he'd ever seen, "You hungry Reena?"

She looked at him and nodded vigorously. "Starved. Actually, before you showed up, I was just about to have dinner."

He remembered the pizza. There was no way in hell he was going to let her eat pizza on this day. She deserved more. "Let me cook for you."

She frowned, "Are you sure? We could eat it, I mean, it's going to just sit there if we don't."

He shook his head determinedly, "Definitely not."

She let out a small laugh, "Okay then. Cooking it is but you have to let me help Rex."

He rather enjoyed cooking with her. Seeing her chat happily away as she busied herself with the vegetables. He tried to give her the easy tasks, as he worked on the chicken, but she ended up doing her fair share of work too. He wasn't like he was cooking with his mother after all.

When dinner was done, they sat in front of the Christmas tree with their meal.

"This looks really delicious." She smiled at him. "Are you going to make a wish?"

"Make a wish?" He asked with a cocked eyebrow.

"You see, I recently read a book about how a little girl made one wish right before Christmas dinner every year. And one year, when she was older, her wish finally came true," She told him, a soft smile gracing her face. "I think it's worth a shot to just try it out. Don't you? We could maybe make our own Christmas tradition out of it."

He smiled at that. "Sure let's try it."

"Okay, here I go," Mareena shot him a wink before closing her eyes and clasping her hands together. Her brow furrowed a little and he couldn't help but think that she looked entirely adorable.

He couldn't help himself. He silently scooted closer and pressed his lips against hers. Her eyes opened in surprise at the contact.

"Sorry," He mumbled against her soft lips. "I couldn't help myself. You looked too cute."

A small grin appeared on her lips before she kissed him back. "Did you make your wish?" She asked after he pulled away.

He nodded as he took in her warm gaze. "Can I tell you?"

"If you want to," She answered honestly.

"Will you tell me yours?" Rex asked in a childish tone.

Mareena chuckled, "It would only be fair."

Reaching out, he took her hands in his. "I wished to spend all of my Christmases with you."

Her eyes lit up and his heart warmed. "I wished for the same." She admitted, shyly.

He lowered his head, until his lips were millimeters away from hers, "Then it'll definitely come true."

* * *

 **A/N:** Well there's my Christmas chapter...a bit early and it's a bit depressing. I don't know why but I love the pairing of Rex and Mareena (yes that's the official, DCAU approved spelling of her name). Their background and story remind me a bit of John and Shayera. Especially if you read the Justice League Beyond comics you would really see the connection. _  
_


	39. Grief

**A/N:** Sent about four years after the previous chapter, _Needing You_.

* * *

The sun was just beginning to rise to start the day but the sky was still shrouded in the darkness of the night. The two siblings returning to the Metro Tower were silent. Neither uttered a word as they trudged into the building they called home.

Inside the headquarters an eerie silence had settled throughout the building; usually at this time the hustle and bustle of Leaguers would be heard as they rose and got ready for the day. Today, however, not a soul could be seen. Everyone seemed to be tucked quietly away in their respective rooms.

"Look, I know this isn't what you wanted to hear when you just got back," Rex said gruffly. He had been trying to keep up a brave front, as long as he was still with Emma. However his dreary face showed he was failing miserably. Emma's head remained down, as she stared intently at the floor.

At this point, Mareena walked into the room. "Hey Rex, why don't you and I..." Hers words faltered as the Red Lantern simply strode past the Atlantean and down into the hallway. "I didn't know your sister was back."

As he heard the electronic hiss of the door opening and closing, Rex ran a hand through his hair, now staring at the door Emma had disappeared through. "She got here about three hours ago. I told her what happened."

"Rex, she needs you. Why don't you go talk to her? And if you need any help, I'll be sticking around the Metro Tower today," Mareena patted him reassuringly on the back and watched as her boyfriend walked away in the direction his sister went.

* * *

The door to her old room slid open slowly, or at least it seemed to open slower than it used to. Stepping inside, she leaned against the wall and lowered herself onto the floor, not caring she was still dressed in her Red Lantern uniform.

Finally alone. Her legs pulled up towards her chest, Emma's forehead rested on her knees. She inhaled a slow breath, the thoughts and emotions of the last few hours brimming in her head. She had left Earth for ten years. She had selfishly left her family for ten years. She knew people didn't live forever but she wasn't there when it happened six years ago. And it wasn't like she had left on a good note either.

_He's gone._

The thought echoed in her mind as a slow tear rolled down her face. All the regrets and guilt she'd been harvesting over the years came flooding to her and, as if a barrier had been broken, more tears quickly followed and soon she was watching as they fell to the ground. A choked, silent sob left her mouth as the reality of her loss sunk in.

A knock on the door caused Emma's head to quickly swivel up in its direction. "I'm getting changed! Leave me alone!" She called, keeping her voice to as normal a tone as possible while she furiously wiped at her face and attempted to dry her eyes.

"Em, I know you're not ok in there. We need to talk," Rex's voice was softer than usual, nothing to do with the metal door between them. "We're the only family Mom has left now. It doesn't matter how long it's been; we both have to be there for her," He rested his head on the door as he spoke, "Especially you, she's always worried about you. You're all she talks about. You can't shut yourself out like this." Rex jolted forward as the door slid open.

Emma cleared her throat before daring to speak, "I'm fine, Rex," Her eyes didn't meet her younger brother's as she spoke. "And I'm sure she doesn't want to see me. Especially after everything that I did over the years. I should go before Mom even hears that I'm back."

"Emma, _she_ needs us, she needs _you_ ," Rex stated as she looked up. His eyes widened slightly as he took in her appearance: her bloodshot and downcast eyes, her clenched fists, and the fact that she was still decked out in uniform. Rex fell silent.

Yes, he had an inclination of how Emma felt. But he hadn't expected this. Not from the stoic woman who had mastered the art of pushing emotions out of the way long ago. Before Emma had a chance to protest, Rex's arms encircled her, forcing her chin to rest on the taller man's shoulder. Rex didn't care that Emma's arms remained firmly down or that he was breaching her closely guarded privacy or even that he may be pushed away any second. They both needed some outlet of emotion and dammit he would give it if he could.

A few moments passed, their calm breathing was the only thing to be heard. There was a soft sound of a throat being cleared and sniffling, before Emma's arms slowly raised to awkwardly encircle her brother. She didn't care about her reputation as a badass Red Lantern at that moment. All Emma could focus on was the slight weight off of her chest she could feel as she stood with Rex.

Emma sighed. One day. It would just take one day and then she'd be back to being the callous and self-righteous Red Lantern she was purported to be, notorious for beating intergalactic criminals to near death with one of her many constructs. But for today, and that day only, she was not going to be a Red Lantern but the daughter her mother needed and deserved.

* * *

 **A/N:** For those that may have not been reading from the beginning, I had two chapters up about Emma becoming a Red Lantern. The chapters are now down due to the fact that I'm trying to make a story surrounding Emma's life and what lead her to becoming a Red Lantern in the first place. I'm hoping to get the first two or three chapters out by New Years.


	40. Snow Day

"Reena, Reena wake up!" Rex gave his girlfriend an impatient shake. "Come on Mareena wake up!"

Mareena's eyes snapped open and she sat upright, pushing away the haziness of sleep. "What's wrong?" She looked over at Rex, concern taking over her facial features. "Are you okay?"

Rex gave her a quizzical look as he spoke, "I'm fine. Why wouldn't I be?"

Mareena sighed and flopped back down on her pillow. "Because you're waking me up in the middle of the night," she mumbled. "And why are you doing that, might I ask?"

Rex smiled and grabbed Mareena's arms and tried to tug her out of bed. "It's snowing," he gave her another tug, "and it's even sticking."

Mareena rolled her eyes. "Rex don't get me wrong, I like the snow too, it's very pretty, but it's the middle of the night," She cast a glance at the clock. "Two forty-five to be exact. Why are you even awake to begin with?"

"I wanted something to drink and I just happened to see that it was snowing!" Rex gave up trying to rouse his girlfriend and went over to the window, pulling up the blinds. "Look! It's gorgeous. It's going to be a white Valentine's Day."

Mareena smirked, "Valentine's Day is four days away, Rex. The snow might be gone by the time we wake up tomorrow."

He playfully stuck his tongue out at her, "Killjoy, you don't know that."

"I'm sure you're right," she stated with a yawn. "Come back to bed, it's late."

But Rex wouldn't move away from the window. "Let's go outside," He glanced out the window and smiled as he looked at the snow collecting on the ground. "I bet it will stick," he said confidently. "Come on Ree. Let's go outside."

She sighed as she shook her head at his antics; he was just like a little kid. He seemed to always get like this whenever it snowed, "No way, crazy, it's late and some of us had the late night shift." She gestured for Rex to come to her. "I'm cold and sleepy, come back and cuddle."

Rex started to protest but Mareena pouted and he knew he was done for. The other League members believed that the only reason why Mareena always got her way with him was because she was quite stubborn and, if she wanted to be, a bit manipulative. They had obviously never seen her pout before. Rex knew that look was reserved just for him when no one else was around and there was nothing he could do to resist it.

"But the snow," Rex whined although he was already walking back toward the bed.

"We'll go out in it tomorrow," she assured him.

"I thought you said it wasn't going to stick," Rex slyly pointed out as he got beneath the blankets once more. He shivered as Mareena snuggled up next to him, curling like a cat against him.

Mareena jumped when Rex's icy feet brushed against her leg under the blankets. "Your feet are _freezing_! You're going to get sick," she chided.

"You'll take care of me if I do," Rex stated confidently, resting his forehead against hers.

"Nope," Mareena chuckled, "you will have brought it upon yourself."

Rex scoffed, "You're not fooling anyone Guppy. I'm going to make you play in the snow with me tomorrow."

She smirked and rolled her eyes. "Okay, we'll do that. If there's any snow left." She closed her eyes and sighs deeply, contentedly. Snuggling up next to Rex was like having her own personal heating blanket. It was impossible not to feel lethargic and happy cuddled up with Rex.

"There will be," he assured her, slipping his arm around her waist. "You'll see."

They didn't say anything more about the snow as they drift off to sleep once more.

* * *

Rex was right on at least one account: the snow was most definitely still on the ground in the morning. Everything was covered in a thick blanket of sparkling white snow, effectively bringing most activity in the city to a halt. Ten inches of snow might seem like nothing to certain parts of the country but to the Metropolis residents it might as well have been thirty inches. Rex couldn't be happier.

He threw his arms around the Atlantean and bear-hugged her as soon as he got off his commlink with Superman. "Yes, snow day!" he grinned at the platinum blonde. "I always wanted to have one of these."

Mareena arched an eyebrow. "But then you realized, that since you're a member of the Justice League, that was probably never going to happen?"

"I'm an optimist, okay?" Rex poured himself a mug of coffee and added, what Mareena considered to be, way too much cream and sugar.

"Let's go back to bed; I feel like being lazy."

Even though that side of Mareena was not one that Rex often saw, he shook his head. "Oh no, you promised," he gave his girlfriend a pointed look. "You said you were going to play in the snow with me."

Mareena made a face. "Do we really need to? I mean, we're adults."

Rex smirked, "My Mom and Dad are worse than me when it snows. They'll probably be out in it today _and_ tomorrow with Jaye."

"Yeah but only because your six-year-old niece is going to want to play in it. _We_ don't need to play in the snow."

"Yes we do," Rex said firmly. "When was the last time you actually played in the snow?"

"Never," she admitted, "but remember there was no snow down in Atlantis."

Rex crossed his arms over his chest. "My point exactly," he said haughtily. "You can't waste a good snow day like this. It's just not allowed." He walked over to the coat closet by the door and fished out his jacket. "Where are the gloves?" He glanced over his shoulder, giving Mareena a questioning look.

"In the pocket of your jacket," she said like it was the most obvious response in the world. "I put them there so that you'd always know where to find them."

"Well, I think your logic is flawed because I didn't know where to find them," he took out her jacket as well and laid them both across the backs of the chairs around the kitchen table.

Mareena rolled her eyes even though Rex wasn't looking at her. "That's because you like to keep things in strange places that doesn't make any sense at all."

"It makes sense to _me_ ," Rex protests. "Stop stalling and go get dressed. You're playing in the snow and you're going to like it."

Mareena mockingly saluted him. "Yes General Warhawk," She turned and marched back toward the bedroom, laughing when Rex called after her, "You're not funny Guppy!"

* * *

Despite the jacket, gloves, and scarf that Mareena was wearing, the cold hit her like a slap in the face as soon as they stepped out of her apartment. She wrapped her arms around herself and shivered, grimacing. "This is a bad idea Rex. We shouldn't be outside." She gave him an entreating look. "It's freezing."

"Don't be such a baby," he teased, pushing Mareena toward the stairs that lead to the ground floor. "You act like it's never been this cold before. Didn't you just go on a mission in the Arctic recently? This is like the Bahamas compared to that."

Mareena wrinkled her nose. "Yeah but that was different. That mission wasn't... _pointless_."

"This isn't pointless. It's called _fun_. Say it with me Mareena." Rex laughed when Mareena gave him a playful shove.

The yard and parking lot outside the apartment building were blanketed in white and the cars and streetlamps and bushes wore their own coats of fresh snow. The grass bore the signs of intrepid children who were making the most of their winter holiday and there was a lopsided, half-finished snowman awaiting completion in the middle of the yard.

It looked like someone had attempted to sweep the walkway clear but gave up before finishing the job, which never would have happened if Mareena had been in charge of the task. There was slush and snow in random patches across the concrete and rock salt scattered all around. Unfortunately the weather was still too cold for the salt to do any good and instead of melting the snow and ice and making it safe to walk. It had only made more ice.

Which was something that Mareena didn't notice until she slipped on a patch of ice and fell onto her butt before she could even think about trying to stabilize herself. Of course, the closest thing to her was Rex, so they probably would have both just hit the ground so maybe it was for the best that she didn't try and grab onto him as she fell.

Mareena groaned, lightly glaring at Rex when he starts laughing. "Why do you always laugh at me when I get hurt?" She mumbled, trying to stand up but it was much more difficult to find her footing than she would have liked to admit.

"I'm not laughing at you, trust me," Rex assured her but it was hard for Mareena to understand him around all the laughing. "Are you hurt?" He pulled her up to her feet, giving her a quick kiss on the nose.

Mareena wrinkled her nose, rubbing her backside. "I think I bruised my tailbone."

"Just say ass, Mareena," Rex smirked. "You bruised your ass."

"And it's your fault for making me come out here." She poked Rex in the ribs hard. "So what exactly do we have to do out here before we can go inside?"

He shrugged as he sarcastically replied, "Oh, you know, the usual: build an igloo, find a polar bear, start a fight with the polar bear, go ice fishing." He rolled his eyes. "It never snows; let's just enjoy it."

"I'm enjoying it," Mareena assured him. "Look, everything is so white and perfect." She even threw some snow in the air and gave a small twirl as it rained down around her. She then looked at Rex expectantly. "See, I enjoyed it. Can we go back inside now? I hate the cold!"

Rex rolled his eyes. "You're no fun Reena. If you're really that miserable you can go back inside."

He turned away with a huff, his breath pluming out in front of his face, making it clear that even if Mareena wasn't going to hang around, nothing was going to stop him from enjoying his winter wonderland.

Mareena frowned, crossing her arms across her chest. Rex wanted her to have fun? Fine, she'd have fun. _At his expense_.

She knelt down and gathered a handful of snow, shaping it into a ball and packing it tightly. She then stood up and gunned the snowball at Rex, nailing him right in the back and catching the half-Thanagarian by complete surprise. Rex slowly turned around and his expression of shock turned into a sly grin as soon as he saw the innocent look on Mareena's face. "Oh, so that's how we're going to play this now is it?" He started packing together his own snowball. "It's on now!"

The innocent look on Mareena's face quickly turned into a mischievous one and she quickly grabbed up a fistful of snow, trying to shape another snowball before Rex could launch his attack. Rex's snowball hit Mareena on the shoulder and she didn't hesitate to retaliate. However Rex was already on the move, running across the parking lot and ducking behind one of the parked cars and disappearing from Mareena's line of sight.

Mareena took a minute to pack together a few snowballs, balancing them in her gloved hands before going after Rex. The chill from the snow seeped through her gloves, turning her skin cold and icy but she couldn't exactly stop now. This was war and her opponent was still out there.

Even though Rex was still hidden away, Mareena could follow her boyfriend's progress thanks to the footprints that he was leaving behind. As soon as Mareena rounded the side of one of the parked cars, she got a snowball directly to the chest and nearly dropped her own cache of snowballs in surprise. Rex laughed and took off running, heading back through the yard in front of Mareena's apartment building. Mareena narrowed her eyes and took off after him, throwing a snowball that hit Rex in the back of the head. Despite the fact that she was still freezing, Mareena found herself laughing too as she chased after him. Her gloves and coat were damp thanks to all the snow but she was happy _and_ she was having fun. At this point nothing else mattered.

Rex turned around to gauge Mareena's progress and lost his footing and went tumbling onto the snowy ground. Within seconds Mareena caught up with him, rolling Rex onto his back. Mareena straddled his hips and pinned him to the ground. She gave Rex a victorious smile.

"Looks like there's nowhere for you to run now," she taunted, holding up a snowball and passing it from hand to hand. "I've got you right where I want you."

 _'Yup and right where I want me too,'_ Rex could think of worse things than to be pinned down by his girlfriend, even if the snow was soaking through his coat, but Rex had never been one to admit defeat. He tried to move out from underneath Mareena but the Atlantean was immobile, the victorious smirk still on her face.

"You're crushing me," Rex said with an over dramatic groan, once again trying to twist away from Mareena.

"Are you calling me fat?" She arched an eyebrow as she teased.

"Yeah the fattest, you're crushing my insides," Rex jokingly complained, trying to push Mareena aside but she remained stationary. "Get off Guppy."

"Not until you surrender, _Emu_ ," Mareena retorted, still holding the rapidly melting snowball in, what she hoped was, a threatening manner. At this point, she was pretty sure that it was more slush than snow but it was the principal of the matter.

"Never," he lifted his chin defiantly, a smirk playing across his lips, "warriors never surrender."

Mareena arched an eyebrow and shrugged, "Okay, if that's how you want it."

"You wouldn't do it. Would you, Ree? I'm totally defenseless." Rex pouted as he looked up at her with wide, innocent-looking, emerald eyes.

Mareena hesitated for a moment before sighing and tossing the snowball aside and standing up. She might have perfected the art of getting what she wanted via a pout and innocent look but she definitely learned those tricks from Rex and her boyfriend was still impossible for her to resist. She pulled Rex up to his feet and brushed some of the snow and ice off the back and sides of his jacket. "You're a mess," she remarked affectionately.

"Well," Rex began, " _someone_ had me pinned down on the ground."

"All's fair in love and war," Mareena stated with a smirk. "I'm freezing. I can't feel my fingers anymore." She rubbed her hands together but it was no use since her gloves were soaked through and the skin underneath was numb. "We should go inside." She turned back toward the entrance of her apartment building.

Rex suddenly grabbed a fistful of snow and shoved it down the back of Mareena's shirt and jacket. She let out a shriek of surprise, twisting back around and trying to shake the slush out her clothes. "Rex!" Mareena was sure that she looked like an idiot hopping around and trying to dislodge the last of the snow but she didn't care. She was pissed, "What the hell was that for?!"

For a moment, Rex wondered if maybe he went too far. Especially since he got her to curse, something she did only when extremely angered. Rex gave Mareena an innocent smile. "All's fair in love and war."

There was a slightly murderous look in Mareena's eyes and Rex was in the middle of composing an apology when she grabbed a fistful of snow and threw it in his direction. Rex laughed as he stumbled backward, retaliating with his own barrage of snow. They were no longer even taking the time to make snowballs, they were just throwing handfuls of snow at each other.

Mareena was pretty sure that she was not even close to hitting Rex half the time but that didn't really seem important either. She was laughing so much her sides were hurting and she had snow melting in her hair and on her clothes. Rex looked just as foolish.

Mareena grabbed Rex's wrist with one hand, pulled him down, and proceeded in dropping a handful of snow onto of his head with her other hand. Rex tried to pull away but Mareena held his wrist tightly, pulling him in for a kiss and effectively putting an end to Rex's protests. Rex put his arms around Mareena's waist and he could feel Mareena's heart thudding in her chest and the rise and fall of her sides as she tried to regain her breath. Rex kissed her harder to make that feat a little more difficult.

When they finally pulled away it was hard to say if Mareena's flushed cheeks were from the snowball fight or the kiss. Rex leaned in for another kiss but stopped before their lips met. He looked up into the sky, a smile spreading across his face. "It's starting to snow again."

Mareena looked up as well, blinking as flakes fell against her cheeks and eyelashes. She looks back at Rex, who had a grin on his face. His emerald eyes were sparkling in pure joy and Mareena wished that she could freeze this moment, this image, and the way that she felt forever. She leaned in to kiss Rex on his cheek, her lips melting the flakes of snow on his skin. Rex moved closer to her and Mareena could feel him shivering in spite of his jacket and scarf.

"We should go inside," Mareena suggested, putting her arms around Rex. "Before we both catch pneumonia and spend Valentine's Day in the hospital."

"You're always so dramatic Mareena," Rex chided but he didn't protest as he followed her through the snowy yard to the stairs leading up to the floor. "Pneumonia," he scoffed. "I think that's the worse case scenario."

Mareena shrugged. "Well _someone_ has to think about these things and take care of you." She pointed out as she held the door open for Rex.

Rex gave her a victorious smirk. "Ha, I knew it! You _would_ take care of me if I got sick."

"Of course I would," Mareena gave out a small chuckle, shaking her head. "Isn't that why you keep me around?"

"Yeah, that and you're really good at keeping things neat and organized and you can do laundry unlike me and even though you're not the worst cook you know all the numbers of the take-out places by heart," Rex teased with a smile. Mareena rolled her eyes and started toward the coat closet but Rex grabbed the scarf around her neck and pulled her back before she could get too far. He kissed her, pressing their foreheads together. "I love you," he said softly, his lips finding Mareena's again. "Even if you can't cook as well as me."

The smile on Mareena's face was soft and secretive. The selfish part of Rex was glad that he was the only one who ever got to see that particular smile. The one that always made him smile in return, no matter what his mood was. The one that always made him want to say those three words again because of the traces of doubt that he still saw in Mareena's eyes at times.

"I love you too. And it's because I love you that I don't do much cooking. Do you want to take the chance of me giving you food poisoning?"

Rex wrinkled up his nose, "I'm going to pass on the food poisoning, at least until after Valentine's Day." The mention of the approaching holiday caused Rex's eyes to brighten and he grinned shamelessly. "Let's watch those old romantic movies you like. I can get the blankets off the bed and we can snuggle on the couch. You love snuggling."

Mareena didn't protest as Rex hurried toward the bedroom. Instead she just hung up their coats and scarves and set their gloves out on the kitchen table to dry. She goes into the bedroom to change into sweatpants and a sweatshirt and rolled her eyes when she saw Rex gleefully tugging the blankets off the bed and piling them on the ground. They were going to be so engulfed by fabric at this rate that they were not going to be able to see whatever movie Rex decided to put on.

Mareena went over to one of the windows in the living room and pushed one of the blinds up, curious to see if it was still snowing outside. The flakes were still drifting down from the grey clouds above, falling fast and blanketing the ground below. She couldn't remember a time when she ever saw so much snow falling while on the surface world.

"Looks like you might get your white Valentine's Day after all, Rex," she called over to him, her breath fogging up the glass. "Though if it keeps snowing like this we'll be stuck inside and we'll need to be beamed over to the Metro Tower if we want to get out."

Rex shrugged, spreading one of the blankets out on the couch. "I can think of a lot worse things than being stuck in here with you."

Well, now that he mentioned it, so could she.

Mareena laid her head on Rex's shoulder as the movie started, snug and warm under the comforter from the bed. She didn't mean to but she found herself drifting off to sleep. The fact that Rex was playing with her hair didn't make it any easier for her to stay awake and she finally fell asleep with a smile playing on the corners of her lips.

* * *

 **A/N:** Better late than never. It actually got delayed by the snowstorms we're currently having where I live. Can't wait until it's summer and one hundred degrees out again!


	41. Reliance

**A/N:** Set between Chapter 34 _One Smile Makes the Difference_ and Chapter 19 _A Change in Fate_.

* * *

Nuisance (n) - a person, thing, or circumstance causing an annoyance; a person or situation that causes problems or is a bother.

Dependent (adj) - relying on someone or thing for aid and support; a person who relies on another for assistance.

Useless (adj) - of no use; not serving a purpose or any purpose; of no practical good.

* * *

That's what Shayera felt like as she sat on the couch in hers and John's apartment. She felt like a useless, overly dependent nuisance. Asking for help or assistance was something Shayera was never known for or very willing to do. It was a foreign concept to her Thanagarian culture. Even in her current condition she still felt the need to do things on her own. Even if such activities were next to impossible for her to accomplish on her own.

Shayera had quickly learned of the many disadvantages of being heavily pregnant. The worst being the immobility and the second being the constant backache that had started during the fourth month as a dull annoyance but steadily progressed each month to what it was now. The pain wasn't just in her back but her wings as well. A set of wings that she hadn't been able to stretch out properly for the past four months.

Now that Shayera thought about it there was a third thing that was really bothering her. Her natural instinct to just simply fly had been screaming at her for the past four months. Thanagarians were creatures of the sky and, even though she had adopted and practiced more human behaviors nowadays, Shayera was still a full-blooded Thanagarian. Turning her head away from the television she wasn't even paying much attention to, Shayera looked at her right wing from over her shoulder. The appendage stretched by just a few inches but then settled back to its original position. Shayera sighed as she turned her head back around. There was no point in teasing herself. Flight was definitely not an option.

Shayera found human television programs asinine at best. It actually made her miss the monitor duty shifts she had to endure for roughly the past nine months. She especially could not stand reality shows that gave people, whom Shayera would classify as trashy, money to do idiotic or selfish activities. There were shows Shayera found that she liked, though those were few and far between.

The television was where Shayera's problem had started. The current program on was some ridiculous talk show that she could barely tolerate anymore. What made things worse was when the woman on the show was revealed to be married, something her apparent boyfriend knew nothing about, and was pleading with him to stay with her and that she promised to leave her husband, even if she had to kill him.

Feeling unpleasant memories creeping up, Shayera hastily reached her hand down to her side to find the remote that she was certain she had placed besides her. Not feeling the plastic device there, she peered down and confirmed that the item was absent. Shayera's eyes scanned the room until she spotted her target on the kitchen counter.

Shayera let out a low and feral growl. If the remote was on the kitchen counter, which she didn't even remember placing it there, that meant she would have to get up. Getting up wasn't too difficult...when John was there to help her but on her own the task proved to be quite bothersome. But Shayera didn't have much of a choice if she wanted to change the channel. That and on top of it all she realized she was hungry. Which proved to be another challenge as she was a disaster waiting to happen when in the kitchen.

Shayera had gotten up on her own before and she would freely admit it was quite difficult to do without any help. Though today, she knew, would be worse than most. It seemed as though her body was having a 'down-day' and didn't want to cooperate with her. She woke up in the morning feeling fine but once she took a shower everything went downhill from there. She didn't know why she was so fatigued when she had literally done nothing the entire day so far.

What made the process even more difficult were her wings. Shayera thought that her wings would have acted like a counter balance to the weight on her front yet they didn't. All they proved to do so far was to weigh her down more.

She thought over the best course of action. It seemed like her best shot was to use bother the couch and the small table that sat before the couch. So she leaned forward and placed her hand on the table and the other she pressed against the couch. Just as predicted her wings acted like dead weights and impeded her attempts in pushing herself forward and off the couch.

Though it took her a good three minutes Shayera was finally successful in hoisting herself up and into a standing position as she sighed. If there was one thing Shayera would never miss from this pregnancy would be the back pain. Shayera placed one hand on her lowered back and the other over her stomach. "You honestly need to get out of there. You're causing me a lot of problems. But don't worry, I still love you."

After making her way to the kitchen she grabbed the remote off the counter and immediately turned off the television. Next she turned her attention to the kitchen itself. Considering the complete absence of cooking skills of any kind on her part, she had a rather difficult choice in front of her. She could just tough it out and wait for when John came home of she could attempt to make something herself, hopefully without giving herself food poisoning.

Shayera peered into the refrigerator and looked at it content. There was nothing she could make without risking the chance of setting the stove on fire...again. Seeing the carton of milk in the frig reminded Shayera of a simple solution: a bowl of cereal. There was absolutely no way she could hurt or poison herself with cereal. Smiling triumphantly she opened the cabinet where the cereal was. Her smile instantly disappeared when she took in what was actually in there. All that was in there were those disgusting Wheaties and wholewheat Cheerios that John insisted on getting. She began to mutter choice words in Thanagarian as she slammed her fist down on the counter top.

Shayera could feel her temper slipping and she could hardly care. She reached up a literally started chucking the boxes over her shoulder, completely ignorant of the mess she was creating. John could clean it up later.

"Is it _really_ that hard to have food I'll actually eat around here?" She muttered as she rummaged through the cabinet and tearing everything apart. There was nothing she wanted, absolutely nothing.

Shayera made a sound of frustration she she roughly slammed the door to the cabinet closed. Fed up, Shayera placed a finger to her commlink. There was going to be hell to pay.

"John!" She barked.

" _Are you ok? What's wrong? Stay where you are, don't move!_ " Was John's frantic reply that caused her to roll her eyes.

"Oh would you shut the hell up and just stop fussing already? I'm fine!" she snapped as she heard him sign in relief. "Look, I'm hungry and there's literally nothing to eat."

" _What do you want me to get?_ " He asked but then quickly added, " _but nothing off world this time._ "

"Deal," she agreed. "Just get me something that I'll like and that won't give me heartburn."

" _So you want a glass of water?_ " He quipped.

Forgetting her previous irritation Shayera chuckled. "Oh look who's trying to be funny. Stop being a smartass and get me some food Lantern."

" _Well I got about another forty-five minutes left on monitor duty. It'll probably be about an hour until I get home. Can you tough it out that long?_ "

"Yeah I'm not going to die so take your time. Thank you John," she replied softly.

" _Anything for you Shay. I'll see you in a bit. Remember, take it easy babe._ "

* * *

John closed the commline. Wally, who had originally come by John's monitor station to bug him, had a look of concern on his face.

"Shayera's ok right?" He asked as he swallowed, expecting the worst.

"Oh yeah she's fine," the Green Lantern said. "She just wanted me to get her something to eat that hopefully won't give her heartburn later."

Wally sighed, "As long as she's alright. Oh and could you um not tell anyone about...well you know."

"That you're obsessively checking up on her by annoying me?" He smirked at the speedster. "Are you embarrassed?"

""No!" Wally scratched the back of his head. "I mean siblings are supposed to tease each other and not worry about," he momentarily faltered, "well this kind of thing. I got a reputation to protect too. I can't let everyone know I'm a big worrywart softy."

John chuckled, "Don't worry hotshot, I'll only tell Shayera. She misses being around this place. She's going to be stir crazy by the time her maternity leave is over."

"J'onn only told her two weeks ago that she was being taken off monitor duty. It hasn't been that long."

"Yeah but Shay gets bored easily. There's not much for her to do at home except watch TV and she already read through every single parenting and baby book you got her. She really doesn't like any of the programs that are on. I can't bring her up to the Watchtower when I'm on monitor duty. Especially after what happened last time."

Being inactive somehow just made her go mad with boredom and there was nothing more dangerous than a bored Shayera. Both John and J'onn learned this lesson rather quickly.

John, feeling somewhat sorry for his wife, had brought her with him during his monitor duty shift. It had only been two days after J'onn had instructed her to stop working and to take it easy for the remainder of the pregnancy. Next thing the Martian and Green Lantern knew was that she had gone down to the core reactor and was beginning a systems and maintenance scan. Both he and J'onn ended up scolding her over the matter and it had become an unspoken rule that Shayera was banned from both the Watchtower and Metro Tower. With no way to access any work, Shayera had been forced to relax so far.

The speedster shrugged before he spoke, "You know she's a workaholic. What'd you and J'onn expect?"

"I know, we should have expected something like that to of happened," John stated as he turned his attention back to the monitor screen. "It wouldn't surprise me if she was up and about. Every single day, so far, I've been telling her to take it easy. She just won't listen."

Wally leaned against the station. "But remember we're talking about Shayera here. She's going to push herself to keep going until she actually has the kid."

"That's what I'm worried about," John said. "The past couple of days she's been completely wiped yet she still insists on doing everything she knows she shouldn't. It's been driving me crazy," he sighed. "It seems no matter what I do I always worry about her. I'm not even sleeping that much because I'm constantly watching over her."

Wally patted his shoulder sympathetically. "Feel better, got it all out now?"

John slouched in his seat. "I guess. I just get so nervous when my commlink goes off and she's on the other end. I always think there's something wrong."

"And here I thought I was the one being overly worried," Wally stated. "Shayera wasn't kidding when she said you were driving her crazy."

"She said that?"

"Yeah she complained before a couple of times that you were constantly up her ass and annoying her."

John scoffed at that. " _Someone_ has to keep her in line. If I wasn't up her ass constantly than things would be a lot worse right now." He then smirked. "I guess it's only fair. She drives me crazy and I drive her crazy. I just hope she won't be in too bad of a mood today. She acted like she wanted to rip my head off yesterday."

* * *

Shayera had begun to flip through the television channels as she laid on the couch on her left side so the she could face the TV. She hated sitting or laying on the couch; her wings always got squished behind her and with her increased weight it was more uncomfortable than usual. Eventually she found a comedy movie that she was familiar with that she knew she liked and could get a few laughs from.

Forcing herself to relax, Shayera closed her eyes momentarily and listened to the dialogue from the movie. After a few minutes of blissful peace someone decided to start kicking...hard. Shayera's eyes flew open and she groaned. At first she had found it very endearing and captivating but the novelty had worn off quite some time ago, three and a half months ago to be exact.

"Stop assaulting me already. You don't need to remind me that you're still in there. Trust me _I know_ ," Shayera proclaimed loudly, directly her voice toward her stomach. The apparent response was a rather hard kick or punch to, what Shayera was certain was, her intestines. "Great you don't listen and you're openly defiant already. I think I know who you're taking after already. Look can we compromise? I'll spoil you to no end when you're born if you stop trying to rupture my vital organs. Think you can do that for Mommy?" When there were no further kickboxing moves, Shayera smirked. "At least you're not unreasonable."

Shayera turned her attention back to the movie though kept her right hand placed over her stomach. She chuckled a bit at one scene. The movie was one of those stupid funny comedies. Even though the movie itself was mediocre it was still good enough to keep her entertained for the time being. So for the next twenty minutes Shayera watched the movie undisturbed until someone wanted to make their presence known again.

"Hey," Shayera softly began as she caressed her stomach with a tenderness that the majority of people that knew her wouldn't believe that she could produce. "I thought we had a deal. Plus I already told you I know you're still in there. Just because you stop moving around doesn't mean I forget about you. So can we just sit here peacefully and watch the movie? Just tough it out with me, ok? You're half-Thanagarian so I know you can."

There seemed to be no argument and Shayera sighed in relief, turning her attention to the movie again. She once again closed her eyes in an attempt to relax. It felt like only seconds when she woke with start after a gloved hand placed itself on her shoulder. She looked up and saw John standing over her.

"When the hell did I fall asleep?" She asked herself in a mumble.

"At least you're relaxing," John commented as he knelt next to the side of the couch. "I was half expecting to find you up and about. How are you feeling?"

"Besides feeling like I haven't slept in a month, I'm fine," she said as she propped her elbow up and rest her chin on her hand. "Though my back and wings are really killing me today."

"I can massage your back if you want," he replied as he leaned in and kissed her cheek. "You're a real trooper. You know that right?"

She grinned, "Yeah but this isn't over yet. Let's get through childbirth and see if your theory holds. But yeah I would seriously appreciate a back massage. Anyway, what did you get me to eat?"

"Well since almost everything causes you heartburn I had to get something really plain. So I'm warning you, it's really boring and you won't really like it," he warned her.

"It can't be that bad. Lay it on me."

"Chicken and vegetable pasta salad."

Shayera grimaced, she would have been better off with the cereal after all. "Ew rabbit food, that's what I'm reduced to. Though knowing my luck I'll still get heartburn."

"You might not," John said. "Have a little hope Shayera."

She shrugged. "Alright fine, it's not like it matters though. I'm hungry enough to anything and not care what it is at this point."

"See, that's a somewhat better attitude," he commented. John turned his back to her and went to get the container of food off the kitchen counter. Walking back with food in hand, John noticed Shayera _trying_ to get up. Putting the food down on the coffee table in front of her, he held his hand out to her. "Come on let me help you."

"I don't want any help," the Thanagarian shot back with a glare.

"You might not _want_ it but you _need_ it."

Giving him a look of defeat, Shayera reluctantly took hold of the Green Lantern's hand as he carefully pulled her up. Once she was in a more comfortable seated position John handed her the food.

"Thanks," she mumbled as she took the container.

Immediately noticed her tone, John looked at her with a raised eyebrow as he sat down besides her. "Shay what's wrong?"

She frowned as she replied quietly, "I know I'm being a burden to you. I can hardly do anything for myself right now."

"Shayera," John took hold of her hand. "I don't care what you say. You're not a burden to me and you never will be, pregnant or not. I know asking for and relying on help like this is still a foreign concept to you but you need to understand that getting some help, especially right now, doesn't make you a burden."

Shayera, though, did not look convinced in the least. Well at least she wasn't having one of her hormone-fueled sobbing episodes or murderous rage moments. John sigh. "You're too stubborn for your own good sometimes."

"Perhaps," she spoke, "but it's one of the reasons why you love me."

He smirked as he pulled her close and kissed the top of her head. "True, it is one of the reasons but you can be quite frustrating at times."

"To tell the truth, I sometimes act so stubborn to just simply annoy you," she admitted.

"You do a pretty damn good job of it," he said.

This time she smirked. "Then my mission is complete." She then pulled him down into a long and drawn out kiss. "I love you John."

"I love you too Shayera. Even if you made the kitchen look like a war zone."

"Sorry," she mumbled as her cheeks began to burn from embarrassment. "I actually tried to clean it up but my body held steadfast against the idea."

"Don't worry about it Shayera. I'd rather have you relaxing than cleaning," John stated. "By the way, Wally was asking about you again."

Shayera smirked as she began eating. "I miss being around Wally, well almost everybody as well for that matter."

"You're not going to ask again if you can go to the Watchtower or Metro Tower?"

She shook her head as she swallowed. "No because I know the answer. I also know that I'll end up working somehow and getting yelled at again. I just can't help it."

"Well maybe, if you promise to behave, I'll try to sneak you with me tomorrow to see Wally and everyone else. Though we might have to sneak you past J'onn. He really doesn't want you up there."

" _Me behave_?" Shayera snorted. "I feel somewhat insulted. I thought you knew me better than that. Me behaving is like our kid being born already literate. _But_ if I have to behave so that I'm not banished from the Watchtower than I promise to be an angel and not even touch one monitor the entire time."

"Promise to not try to kill anyone if you get really cranky? You gave Static a black eye the last time you saw him. Poor kid, he's only been in the League for two months and this happened."

"That I can't do and it wasn't my fault; Virgil should've kept his mouth shut instead of cracking bird jokes about me ' _laying eggs_ '. Next time, he won't getting off so lucky."


	42. Bickering

**A/N:** Sorry I've been so inactive. Work has been crazy and my schedule is all over the place right now. I decided to whip up this chapter for you guys. Hope you enjoy it. :)

* * *

_Children are natural mimics who act like their parents despite every effort to teach them good manners._

~Unknown

* * *

"Get out!" A girl's voice shouted in exasperation, unbelievably audible, possibly even heard across the city. Squealing boyish laughter followed it, clearing feeding off of it. "I said to get out, Rex! Get out of my room!"

Rex laughed again, louder, nearly giggling with gleeful abandon. "I am out Emma!" He howled back at her triumphantly. "I'm way out here in the hallway!"

Shayera didn't need to get out of bed to see what was going on. She could visualize the scene from where she lay, nursing a migraine from being knocked over the head by Bizarro the previous night. Her head pounded as she grimaced, hoping the two could _peacefully_ work it out themselves.

Rex stood grinning in the hall, gawking at his older sister through her open door, the tips of his sneakers defiantly resting just over the edge of her doorway.

"Go away!" Emma yelled, her piercing cry prompting her mother's migraine to worsen. "Just get out of my room! I don't like you!"

Rex only laughed harder, his small fists slapping like drumsticks against the hollow-sounding wall much to the Thanagarian's chagrin.

"I mean it! I don't like you!"

"I don wike you eiver!" He hurled back indistinctly, still chuckling. From the muffled sound of it, he probably was sticking his tongue out at her.

'You're not supposed to interfere,' she reminded herself forcibly, massaging her temples in a futile attempt to flatten the pounding that radiated from her skull. That's what the parenting books said: let them fight it out amongst themselves. "Easy for them to say," she grumbled under her breath. "They didn't have to suffer through the screeching."

Shayera sometimes missed the more simple days. The ones where she and John didn't have children. Sure she loved her daughter and son with her entire being but sometimes she just wanted one day where she didn't have to worry about how much trouble they were going to cause or get themselves into. There were also the fights that began between the two, such as this one. On many occasions Shayera was the one pulling referee duty between Emma and Rex whenever they fought. Their fights reminded her so much of the earlier Justice League days and how she and John would bicker to no end.

"REX!" Emma shrieked suddenly, her voice rising to a pitch that pained Shayera's ears. "I don't want you in my room!" She erupted, nearly breathless with childish fury and indignation. " _Get out_!" Apparently he had crossed the line in teasing her; trampled the border between her space and his.

"What?" He yelled back with mock innocence. "I'm not doing anything." Shayera heard rigorous, rhythmic tapping noises and pictured her son performing one of those human slap-happy-dance-routines in the hall by his sister's bedroom door.

Suddenly there was a loud thunk and a loud yelp, one of astonishment and pain. Shayera groaned, now came the trouble.

"Uh-oh, Emma, you're gonna be in _so_ much trouble. I'm telling Mom."

"Good," she retorted scathingly, ostensibly unperturbed by the formidable threat. "I'll tell her what you did, too."

"Oh no you don't! Mom! _Mom_!" Rex yelled, bursting into her room with all of the sound and fury of a string of firecrackers going off. "Emma threw a shoe at me! Hit me right here on the head!" He pointed cheerfully at the "nasty" wound, a small pinkish tint barely visible on his skin.

"Looks more like a sandal," she contended calmly, leaning closer to examine the visible results of the _near-fatal_ blow. "You don't seem hurt."

"But I am," he expounded happily. "Mom, you should punish her!"

"He started it Mom!" Emma yelled, exploding in turn through the doorway as if a catapult was parked right outside. She glared at her little brother.

"No, I didn't, you did!"

"Oh yes you did; you know you did you nuisance!"

"I know what you are but what am I?"

"I'm rubber and you're glue-"

"Both of you shut up!" Shayera shouted suddenly, her infamous temper igniting, as she snatched up her pillow and clutched it over her head. Her head felt like it was going to explode.

They stopped and turned to glance thoughtfully at one another and hushed, suddenly remembering that their mother had asked them earlier to keep it down since her head was killing her. They silently looked at her apologetically while Shayera scolded herself over her own childish temper tantrum.

"Some mother I am," she mumbled as she removed the pillow from her head and looked at the two. "Look guys I'm sorry but can you just please keep it down? I can't handle the volume right now. Alright?"

The two siblings once again turned to each other and then back to their mother as they both nodded and proceeded to _quietly_ exit the bedroom.

An hour later Shayera gingerly walked out of her room, still feeling a little guilty over her impatient outburst and considering whether she ought to compensate them later on with a massive amount of ice cream as an apology.

Standing just behind the doorway she could see Emma and Rex laying serenely next to each other on the living room floor, companionably assembling a rather large Lego creation of some sort. Their argument was as long forgotten as Shayera's angry outburst. Their renewed friendship ensured as long as the delicate balance between sibling love and sibling rivalry was carefully maintained. A balance that might be upset by the smallest act, the tiniest sound, the most frivolous word, the most meager interruption to their peaceful co-existence.

She ducked unnoticed back into her room, returning to bed with the same migraine, reassured that her children were safe, her family once again loving and intact. She then wondered how long the new found peace might reign within the household before all hell broke loose again. Before all of the chaos of being a mother started up again.

Shayera couldn't lie though; she enjoyed the quietness.


	43. Ink

**A/N:** I had this done before going to Germany but I was ultimately too lazy to post it before leaving. So tada! Here you go.

* * *

As of that moment, there was not one inch of the high school cafeteria that wan't covered with food. It seemed like there was no safe spot to be free of the meatloaf with the mashed potatoes with a side of corn - today's special. People had flipped over tables to block them from what they could but others were completely engaged in the war. Screams and laughs echoed through the giant room as Emma attempted to crawl through the mass of people and flying food to escape the insanity. Of course the one time out of the entire school year that she had decided to buy lunch instead of bring it from home, this monstrosity occurred. She was determined to get out of the chaos in one piece.

Just as she had reached halfway towards the exit she felt something splatter against the side of her face. The juice was now embedded into her hair and made the corner of her eye burn. She wiped whatever it was off her skin and looked over at the attacker. Her adrenaline started to pump faster as Rex had a look of success smothered across his smirking face, along with the white cream of potatoes that dripped from his hair.

It was as if in slow motion she stood from her knees and reached for a pile of muck to her right side just as he reached for another hand full from a tray on the table in front of him. Both were in their own little war, trying to nail each other with food. They didn't take any heed when the main cafeteria doors opened and a crowd of suits moved in. Rex's jaw dropped and Emma's eyes widen as their food hit the woman everyone knew to be the superintendent from both sides. The superintendent had been evaluating the school for the past two weeks and today was supposed to be the final day, which was why the rest of the school board was currently present.

The room grew deadly silent and completely still. Both of their names were being shouted by the other administrators who knew them both personally. Superintendent Remski just stood still, food sticking to her expensive looking suit, not moving which was probably scarier than her going on a rampage. Slowly she looked down to examine her, now potato covered, navy blue pant suit. Her eyes looked from Emma to Rex and then Emma again until finally she nodded and turned back around, now facing Principal Kilm. She made a 'humph' sound and shook her head in a disapproving manner.

"Trisha," she started as though she was about to reprimand a child, "I am very displeased and disappointed by the way you run your school and you want more funding. With how things are handled here I don't see how I could trust your staff to handle such a large amount money if they cannot even control a bunch of teenagers." Her voice sounded like she was shouting with how unpleasantly silent it was throughout the room. "If you'll excuse me, it seems that I need a new change of attire." The school board members and some of the other administrators left and followed her out the door, probably trying to assure that the school didn't gain too bad of a review, but Principal Kilm and the Vice Principal, Nicolas Masta, remained.

The doors slammed shut and suddenly Kilm's face had twisted into one of the nastiest looks either sibling had seen from her. Normally it was Vice Principal Masta the students had to fear. He ruled the school with an iron fist while Principal Kilm normally promoted the theory of talking it out for hours on end in detention over suspensions.

"This is not the way we run things here!" Her voice boomed throughout the room and echoed into everyone's ears. The bell rang indicating the end of lunch and beginning of seventh period but no one made a move to leave.

"Get to class," Masta said in a much lower tone. "Now!" He screeched and everyone was fighting to get out as if the cops had come and they were all in possession of something illegal.

Emma, being her naturally short self, tried and ultimately failed to hide inside the crowd of students. Rex slowly started to walk away as well, trying to blend in with the others.

"Except for you two," his voice snapped louder than the rush of students and there was no need to turn around to know who he was talking about. The sophomore and senior stopped in their tracks and groaned as they both slowly turned around.

The other students looked at the two siblings with a variety of looks. Some were amused and proud they had gotten off the hook. Others looked completely guilty like the pair shouldn't be the only ones who were in trouble. Once everyone escaped and the four of them all stood in silence was when Rex's heart started to race. He had never gotten in to major trouble before and never really planned on it.

"We should suspend both of you," his head snapped to Emma. "Especially you, if I could have it my way you would also be barred from attending graduation at the end of the year."

Emma looked down at the ground but a smirk was evident on her face. This was hardly the first time she had been in trouble with the school.

"But we can't," Kilm's calm voice stated and had full attention of both students. "Since this is Mr. Stewart's first offense, and a separate punishment for both of you isn't technically allowed, you'll both be assigned cleanup duty while you wait for your entire punishment. And this is effective immediately."

"The _entire_ cafeteria?" Emma asked, immediately regretted it when Masta's glare had practically burned her entire body from the fury in his eyes.

"Yes, Ms. Stewart the entire cafeteria," Kilm replied tartly.

"But what about class?" This time Rex asked. He had hardly ever missed class. Having nearly perfect attendance had been an ongoing thing since elementary school. This hardly seemed fair to him, he'd miss valuable class time.

"Rex is right, that's a little extreme," Emma said as Rex sent her a small smile. "You can't make us miss class."

Rex nodded, "yeah and we didn't even start the food fight. It was an accident that the superintendent got hit by food. We didn't mean it."

"Keep talking and I _will_ suspend you," Kilm pointed with her finger at both of them. "You may have cost this school the extra funding it needed." With a few more heated glares, both administrators turned, and Masta called over his shoulder where the cleaning supplies were. Rex and Emma were left alone with a final slam of the heavy metal doors.

It was silent between them as they both comprehended what exactly just happened and then Rex let go of a long breath and scratched the back of his neck.

"This is all your fault," Emma snapped and Rex stepped back at the sudden blow.

"Excuse me?" He asked. "We both threw something last time I checked."

"Well I wouldn't have thrown anything if you hadn't purposefully thrown food at my head," she pointed to the right side of her head where the food still remained planted in her hair.

"Oh because I totally was aiming for you specifically," he narrowed his eyes at her.

"You looked straight at me, of course it was on purpose!"

It was clear Emma was growing angrier with each step she took towards the janitor closet in the corner of the cafeteria. While she walked towards it she swore she could hear him mutter something under his breath but he wasn't facing her when she turned around so she couldn't tell and didn't have the desire to retaliate anymore. She grabbed a rag and a bottle of some kind of purple liquid while inside the closet. On her way out she ran into a wall of flesh and just glared at him. Instead of grabbing what Emma had taken out, Rex pulled out the mop bucket to start on the floor. They both worked without speaking and the only noise that came from either were groans of disgust or the screeching of chairs.

Emma moved to start lifting up the fallen tables.

"Here, I'll help you so that you don't _get hurt,_ " Rex sarcastically stated, with Emma rolling her eyes, and stopped mopping to move and help her lift the table. A silent agreement seemed to be made between them and they started lifting each table that had been pushed over.

"Hold on it's boiling in here," Emma held her hand up and Rex leaned against one of the tables to wait as she took off her gray sweatshirt, leaving her in just a black tank top. After she set it down by the door with the rest of her and Rex's stuff, she walked back over to the table and Rex. Her eyes narrowed as she caught Rex staring at her. "What?"

"You have..." he slowly said as he cautiously walked towards her, "a tattoo...on your back."

Her face turned pink and her cheeks burned as she looked away. How could she forget that she had her hair up, which exposed the green ink between her shoulder blades. "Oh yeah," she mumbled incoherently under her breath.

"Well what is it?" Rex moved to walk around Emma but she angled herself so that her back was out of his sight.

"Nothing okay? It's not a big deal," she snapped with much more force than she had intended. "Can we just finish this Rex? I'd really like to be finished sometime today."

It took him awhile to respond. Emma's eyes remained everywhere but on his. Emma could tell Rex was trying to read her. He bit his lip to stop himself from answering back. She let out a breath she hadn't realized she was holding and moved back to her spot while her and Rex continued flipping the rest of the tables.

Once they were done with that, Emma had moved over to the glass windows where she wiped the gunk off and Rex continued his previous job of mopping. It felt like every second his gaze would find it's way over to his sister. They had been working for the past two hours by now and hadn't talked after Emma snapped at him. But now she had her back to him so he could distinctively see what was on her back.

"A bird?" He called out and saw her visibly tense. "That's what you were trying to hide?"

She didn't turn around; she just stood there in her frozen state. Slowly she remained wiping up and down the glass. "Why are you watching me?"

"What kind of bird is it? What does it mean?" Rex set the mop aside and found himself walking closer to Emma. "How'd you get it? You're not eighteen for another four months."

"Do you always answer questions with questions?" He could see her hand started to rub harder against the window.

"Do you?" He could feel a smirk appear on his face. His arms came up across his chest in an almost dominant way. Her hand fell from the window before she turned around to face him, fury eyes and all.

"Ya know," he said dropping his arms down back to his sides, "I won't tell Mom and Dad if you tell me about it." Her posture didn't change so he added one more thing, "unless, ya know, you'd rather endure their wrath but that's cool, I guess that is more interesting." He turned and took slow steps away from her but stopped when he heard her sigh.

"Fine," this time she was the one to cross her arms but in a more defensive way. "One of my friend's older sister works at a tattoo parlor. She gave all of us free tattoos for Christmas."

She watched as he turned with a small grin. Something inside her wanted to sock him hard in the jaw. To just take that stupid expression off his face but she knew she couldn't bring herself to do that to him.

"It's a tribal, oceanic swallow. In China they're associated with springtime and thus they represent the coming of good fortune and prosperous change. There's other crap too but it's not really important," Emma said, her eyes still locked into place with Rex's. "That's what a swallow stands for. Happy? I just got it because I wanted it. I thought it looked nice."

For a long moment neither said anything to the other. Rex could tell she was lying about something; she never was good at it. As the silence continued, Emma started to shift back and forth suddenly realizing they had been staring at each other for quiet some time now. The wet rag in her hand reminded her of the task at hand and she finally broke eye contact to turn and continue wiping down the table.

"That makes sense," Rex was suddenly standing next to her with a slight smile set on his face. He leaned the back of his thighs against the table and grabbed the edge with his hands. "You were born in May after all and that's in the spring so that makes sense. And here I thought you just had some weird bird fetish," Emma rolled her eyes and listened while still wiping down the table. "Unless you got a bird because of Mom and got it in green, instead of black, because of Dad."

That made Emma stop and turn to look at him again. He bit his lip a little knowing he got her attention back. "Shut up," she swatted him with the rag in her hand.

His hand went up protectively to his shoulder where she hit him. "I'm being serious," he said, his eyes becoming brighter with the genuine smile he had. "Someone just doesn't go and get a tattoo like that for no reason. It has to have a meaning and you know what it is."

"Yeah right, okay," she shook her head and mumbled sarcastically. "There is no reason."

"Come on Em, just tell me the real meaning of it."

Emma's mouth opened to say something when one of the cafeteria doors swung open.

"Stewarts!" Vice Principal Masta came in holding a folder tightly to his chest and a briefcase in his other hand. His eyes scanned over the room with no expression on his face. "Amateur job but good enough." Both Rex and Emma seemed to stand straighter as he stepped closer to them. "Detention, both of you for a month. Skip it and I won't hesitate from suspending both of you. And you'll be happy to know that your parents are waiting for you in my office." Then he spun on his heel and was gone.

"I guess school's been over," Rex said. "It must be almost four by now. We should go and not make them wait."

Emma raised an eyebrow. "And deal with Mom and Dad so soon? You sure about that Rex?"

He shrugged, "I think they'll see things our way once we explain what actually happened. You know how Mom hates the administrators and that Dad will definitely listen."

"Wishful thinking Rex, wishful thinking."

* * *

"Told her they'd listen," Rex mumbled to himself as he laid on his bed, his laptop on his lap. "What a pessimist."

Rex continued mumbling to himself and he typed on his laptop. After a few minutes he found the page he wanted.

"The swallow is a bird that chooses a mate for life," he quietly read to himself. "Therefore a swallow tattoo is a primary symbol for love and loyalty to the family."

Rex smirked to himself as he powered down and closed the laptop. It seemed that she did have a reason after all.


	44. It Takes Two

_It takes one person to forgive, it takes two people to be reunited._

~Lewis B. Smedes

* * *

 **A/N:** Set after _Small Talk._ Also I found out it's Third Moon of _Goltos_ not _Galtos_. I'm so ashamed!

* * *

It had been just little over two weeks since they got back together and things were not pleasant between them. After their initial talk John thought they had taken ten steps forward but by the next day things seemed to have gone twenty steps back. Being on the Third Moon of Goltos was like the old days again. That seemed to be the problem. Anytime they got too close to being like the old days again, Shayera would essentially shut down and close herself off to him. They could barely talk without an awkwardness and stiffness between them. That was if awkward was even a strong enough of a word to describe it.

That was why John was so surprised when she had insisted on going to his apartment, rather than the Metro or Watchtower, for her injuries to be treated. John figured she was just being her regular stubborn self. She hated the Medbay with a passion and normally wouldn't get herself patched up after missions.

She had gotten a few good cuts and bruises, along with a dislocated left shoulder. Things like that tended to happen whenever a hero waited to throw the second punch and Shayera tended to throw the second punch a lot more nowadays.

John frowned; he knew how to fix her shoulder. He had done before...twice. He even witnessed her fixing that shoulder herself once. He was thankful it wasn't one of her wings. He had to fix a dislocated wing once and he never wanted to do so again. That was the first time John had seen Shayera cry from pain.

She hadn't been to his apartment in the past three years. Well technically his newer one, considering how the old one had been destroyed during the Thanagarian Invasion. He could tell there was a tenseness in her as they walked up the stairs. Maybe this was a bad idea after all.

Shayera held her shoulder as they walked into the apartment. "I swear, if I could, I'd go out there right now and kick their asses," she growled.

John eyed her injured shoulder. He hated it whenever she got hurt because it meant that he wasn't doing his job. He wasn't taking care of her like he should have been. Apparently Shayera had noticed him staring at her.

"It could have been a lot worse, John," Shayera muttered as she winced when she accidentally moved her shoulder. "A _lot_ worse."

"Yeah...I know," John's voice trailed off as he wanted to say more but decided to let it slide. He opened the door for his girlfriend, turn on the lights, and helped her over to the kitchen counter. At first, Shayera was tempted to comment that she wasn't handicapped; that she could walk by herself but she decided not to try and start a fight.

Now she sat on his kitchen counter, as she had done many times in the past, with her lip and shoulder still bleeding.

"Wish I could've protected you. This shouldn't of happened," John muttered in an apologetic tone.

"It's okay," Shayera winced a bit, her muscles tight. "I've had worse," she paused before daring to continue, "and I'm sure you have too."

John stiffened at the last remark.

"You need to take off your shirt."

He noticed her slight discomfort at his statement. Everything was supposed to be okay between them. It wasn't like he had never seen her without a shirt on before but that had been _then_ and this was _now_.

Then he saw a small smirk appear on her face. "You just want to see me without a shirt on."

John paused. He recognized that tone. It was her playful, teasing tone. But just as quick as the old, playful Shayera surfaced she vanished. She cleared her throat as she looked downward. John sighed in defeat.

Heat was rising around her shoulder as Shayera used her good arm to obey. John helped her take the shirt off. Carefully, they managed to remove the yellow t-shirt and placed it beside her, revealing a black sports bra. Along with the cuts on her shoulder and one on her lip, the Thanagarian had a bruise forming on her torso and across her entire left shoulder.

And then John took full notice of just how beat up her shoulder looked.

"This looks really bad Shayera," he stated as he looked up at her. "I wish you would just go to the Medbay for once."

"Yeah, like I'd willingly go," Shayera said sarcastically. "This isn't the first time this has happened nor will it be the last."

"I know, I know," John sighed. "I'd just feel better if a professional was doing this."

"It's okay," Shayera said, her voice more gentle. "I trust you."

John looked at her. When was the last time he heard her say that to him?

"Thanks," he said back as he started to gentle massage her shoulder. "Ready?"

"Ready," she grimaced, bracing herself for the pain that was certain to occur.

"On a count of three, one...two-" John quickly popped the shoulder back in place, causing Shayera to shout in pain, more out of surprise than anything else.

John gave her an apologetic grin. "Sorry but it really is better if you don't expect it to happen."

"Tell that to my shoulder," Shayera muttered. John opened the cabinet, grabbed some ice packs, and put them into the freezer.

"When they're frozen, we'll put them on your shoulder," he said. "For now, I guess you'll just have to tough it out."

She placed her hand on her rather tender shoulder as she tried to flex the muscles. She groaned at the sharp pain she felt.

"Don't do that," he scolded her. "It's still pretty swollen. Just keep it still for now. Tomorrow you're going to the Medbay and getting a sling."

"Yeah, sure, sorry," she muttered. "I already have one from before back in the Watchtower in my room."

"Good," he stated. "Now let's get these cuts cleaned up."

John placed his simple first aid kit next to her and opened it, revealing the alcohol and gauze that she hated so much. He gave her an ice cube to hold against her lip and analyzed the wound on her shoulder. Her shirt had covered half of it and, judging by the stains, he could see it had soaked up some of the blood.

He pulled out the bottle of alcohol and a pile of gauze pads. Once he moistened the gauze, John gently laid his right hand over her collarbone. He began cleansing the gash that was a lot worse than he had originally thought. She winced beneath his touch and closed her eyes.

"Shayera, I'm not going to sugarcoat this. I think you could really use stitches. Some of the cuts are very deep," he stated.

"I'm not going," she said defiantly. "That's final."

"I know that," he replied as he moved onto the smaller cuts. "I'm just saying."

"Well don't," Shayera retorted.

John scoffed, "You're just as boneheaded as ever."

"Excuse me? Boneheaded?" She glared at him. "You're the one that's boneheaded! I swear you're still so aggravating, even after all of these years."

"Same could be said about you Shayera. You're just as stubborn as ever."

They were surrounded by silence for a few minutes. The only sounds heard were Shayera's held back grunts of pain. Then John got close enough that he could smell her hair. He momentarily smirked; he liked that some things didn't change after all. It was refreshing.

Feeling the need to lighten the mood John calmly stated, "You still use Herbal Essences."

Shayera swallowed as her eyes looked over at him, "So what if I do? I happen to like how it smells."

"I know." What he wanted to say was 'so do I' but he couldn't bring himself to say it. He didn't know how she might react. "You told me your favorite one was Fruit Fusions. Right?"

"It still is," she casually replied.

"You still use the same one?"

"I dunno, you tell me?" He could see the coy smile spreading against her face. "Let's see how good your memory is Lantern."

John stopped what he was doing momentarily as he thought. "It was uh...mango, a kind of berry, and some other thing."

She chuckled, "Close enough, it's mango, blueberry, and avocado. Don't ask me why an avocado is in there, I have no clue. Apparently they're discontinuing it though. Wally got me some other...would it be considered flavors? All I know is that one has lavender in it and the other was violet. I haven't tried them yet."

John opened his mouth but then closed it as he sighed.

"Anything would smell good on me. That's what you were going to say right?" Shayera asked him.

Rolling his eyes the Green Lantern muttered, "Smart ass." And she laughed in response.

But John couldn't really complain. This was the first time the two of them were in a room together, talking, and not being so uncomfortable while doing so. They were actually enjoying each other's company for once.

A few minutes later Shayera was all taped up, her shirt back on, as she hopped off the counter.

"Thanks," Shayera ran a hand through her hair and lowered her eyes. "I guess I should be going now."

"You don't have to," John quickly said but then faltered. "I mean...well you could...crash here for the night if you wanted or just wait for those ice packs to get cold and then go back to the Watchtower. It's all up to you Shay."

Shayera was quiet for awhile as she contemplated her decisions. "I could use a nap. I just need to borrow your couch for a bit. If you don't mind."

"You can sleep in the bedroom if you want Shayera," John said as he motioned towards the hallway. "You don't need to sleep on that couch, especially with your shoulder."

She waved him off. "It's fine John. Once I lay down and fall asleep I won't feel the pain. I have a high pain tolerance anyway."

Shayera made her way over to the couch and gingerly laid down. Ignoring the shooting pains from her protesting shoulder, she closed her eyes and let her mind drift off.

For the next two hours John sat in silence as he watched Shayera sleep. She seemed to have very active dreams. John never recalled her having such vivid dreams like this when they were previously together. And these dreams didn't seem to be too pleasant either. She was constantly fidgeting and talking under her breath.

" _I'm sorry John,_ " she murmured in a drowsy voice. " _I'm so sorry._ "

John raised his eyebrows. What was she sorry about? Suddenly John remembered Wally bringing up once that Shayera usually didn't sleep well. Now it made sense to him. She still had, and always would have, a guilty conscious over what happened with the Thanagarian Invasion. Was this how she had spent every night since then? Tormented by her subconscious?

John got up and checked on the ice packs. Thankfully they were now completely frozen and gave him an excuse to wake her up. Taking them out of the freezer, John walked over to Shayera.

"Shayera," he nudged her. "Shayera, wake up."

She jumped slightly and then grimaced. "Yeah, what happened?"

"I know you were sleeping," John said. "I'm sorry for waking you but the ice packs are ready."

Still trying to collect herself, Shayera nodded and took them. "Thanks," she said as she placed them onto her shoulder.

"Were you having a bad dream?" John slowly asked as Shayera frowned.

"Why are you asking?"

John shrugged. "Looked like you were having a bad dream, that's all."

"Yeah um, it's nothing," she sighed. "At least nothing out of the ordinary."

John arched his eyebrows. "You sure? Do you want to talk about it?"

Shayera quickly shook her head and John nodded, knowing that there was no way of getting anything out of her when she didn't want to talk about something.

"John," she said hesitantly.

"Yeah?"

"Thanks," Shayera mumbled, suddenly looking embarrassed.

He looked rather confused. "For what?"

"For...helping me...and for...not leaving me," Shayera said quietly. "For still being here for me...even though I've been a real pain in the ass for the past two weeks. I know I'm not helping things by being like this."

John looked at her for a few moments without saying anything before he finally smiled.

"No problem and don't worry," he added as he sat down next to her. "I don't have any plans on leaving you anytime soon. You can count on that."

"Thanks," she said again, still holding the ice packs to her shoulder.

Shayera gave him a true smile, the first one he had seen from her in a long time. A smile that was filled with relief and hope.

John returned the smile. Maybe things weren't that bad between them after all.


	45. Trust

_ To be trusted is a greater compliment than being loved. _

~George MacDonald

* * *

** A/N: **  Hi remember me? Yeah I'm still alive. Just super busy with work along with college. At least the semester is over until September. Now I just have to deal with my insane work schedule.

* * *

"This is how we used to train on Thanagar when we were teamed up with new recruits. It was the most effective training exercise we had," Shayera explained as she reached up to wrap a black blindfold around John's head. "It's all about trust...and having some nerve," she reminded him as she waved a hand in front of his face, checking to make sure that his eyes were covered. "Can you see anything at all?"

"No," he replied, lowering his head in Shayera's direction.

"Excellent," the Thanagarian grinned as she gently patted his shoulder with her hand. She grabbed a rolled up bundle off the floor.

John heard something unravel, and then felt Shayera close his fingers around a thin, metal handle. "Are you sure about this? What if I hurt you?" he doubtfully asked but soon after speaking he felt the woman's lips gently brush against his ear.

"Believe it or not, I completely trust you doing this," she whispered. "That's why I'm doing this exercise with you and only you."

John could feel her playful grin as she spoke. "I am  _very_  grateful to hear that."

"Just like we planned," she reminded him as she walked away.

John grasped a blade in one hand and the unrolled knife case in the other.

"Try not to hurt yourself!" Shayera quipped once she reached the other end of the room.

"You're quite confident in this 'trust exercise' of yours, aren't you?" John inquired, gripping the weapon tightly. "We don't have to do this. You know? We can do a simpler one, like the fall down exercise. It's a lot safer Shayera."

" _Yes_   _we do_ ," Shayera rolled her eyes and punched the wall behind her with the back of her fist. "Now just shut up and concentrate, John. Just follow the sounds and only pay attention to the sounds. Drown everything else out, focus on my voice."

John took a deep breath and then flung the first dagger towards the farthest end of the room. He heard it dig into the wall and hoped that Shayera's silence was a positive sign. "How was that?" he asked sheepishly, hoping to hear her reply.

"Not too bad John," she sounded impressed and he felt somewhat relieved. She saw the knife collide with the wall in her peripheral vision. "About a foot away, really not bad for your first try." Shayera folded her arms over her chest and kicked the wall with the heel of her sneaker, completely relaxed and at ease. Even if his throwing technique was sloppy he still managed to make a decent throw. Shayera mused for a moment on how she could easily teach him the proper throwing techniques. Yet another bonding exercise she could rope him into for her own personal enjoyment. "Normally first-timers hit their partners and injure them. I remember one of my partners got me in my left wing. Hurt like a bitch, it was a really nasty wound. Took about a month for it to heal all the way."

"That's not helping. Next thing we know I end up maiming you," he muttered. He focused in on the sound and slowly unstrapped a new blade from the knife roll. "Tell me, why is it that you trust me this much again?"

Shayera smirked and watched as the knife flew through the air. She stood still as the weapon struck the wall mere inches from her right wing, not even slightly fazed. "You already know why Lantern."

"Really?" he prodded, grinning widely. "Remind me again because I seem to have forgotten. I can't quite remember just why."

"Very funny, you just want me say that I love you," the Thanagarian couldn't hide the smile playing at the corners of her lips. "You want me to admit that I'm helplessly, insanely..." her voice began to take on a sarcastic and playful tone.

John chuckled as he flung yet another dagger across the room.

"Desperately in lo— _shit!_ " she cried out.

Panic overwhelmed him as his stomach twisted in knots. John hastily ripped the blindfold off as he felt his heart drop to his stomach. "Shayera!?"

"Your accuracy got better," she noted, completely unharmed as she had ducked down to avoid the knife that was now embedded in the wall where her head just was moments before. "Did I scare you?" she asked, arching a brow.

John narrowed his eyes as he let out a frustrated sigh. "Dammit Shayera, I thought I hit you. Don't do that!"

Shayera smirked as she plucked the weapon out of the wall before she sauntered over to John. "My turn, go stand against the wall.  _And no moving_."

"Is this really necessary?" he inquired as he grimaced. The idea of a highly skilled soldier with years of training under her belt blindly throwing knives directly at him wasn't exactly pleasing to him.

"Don't worry, I'm not going to hit you John," she promised, grabbing the blindfold from him. "That's the goal. Now go." She knotted the ribbon and knelt down to grab a handful of knives.

John stood close to the wall, hands clasped behind his back. "Just so you know babe, if you do hit me, I'm ignoring you for the rest of the day  _and night_."

"Your loss than," Shayera slightly shrugged as she hurled the first knife. "Though, is the mighty Green Lantern afraid of a few minor scrapes from a little Thanagarian?"

The sharp edge of the blade nicked John's left calf before it lodged itself into the wall.

"From _you_ , yes," he tried keeping his voice even, which proved to be unsuccessful, and Shayera chuckled.

John swallowed the lump that was growing in his throat. Even Shayera could make a mistake, she wasn't perfect after all. Though Shayera was seemingly an expert at this and he trusted her with his life. Another knife barely missed striking John in the side and every muscle in his body tensed as he swallowed again. Still, he wasn't fond of having weapons flung at him while being forced to stand defenseless. He kept his eyes on Shayera, admiring her graceful poise as she threw a third dagger. She moved as fluidly as a dancer combined with the skill set mirroring that of an assassin that gave her a deadly beauty. Lost in admiration, John was brought back to reality at the sound of a blade cutting through the air and hitting the wall dangerously close to his left ear.

"Very good, Shayera, I think we've had enough fun for one day. Don't you think so?" he hopefully asked. John was positive that this woman would be the death of him.

"Scared?" She readied a knife in each hand, ready to throw them in unison.

"Now? Yes!" John freely admitted. "I've had quite enough of this."

"Don't move and close your eyes," she said to him. "That normally helps take the edge off."

John shut his eyes, waiting for this to be finally finished. "Please get this over with Shay."

Shayera paused, wondering if John really did have his eyes closed. "Okay, we're done," she announced after a pause.

"Really?" John smiled as he opened his eyes and breathed a sigh of relief as his body relaxed. "That wasn't as bad as I-" Before he had the chance to react, Shayera threw both of the blades towards his head. John's eyes grew wide and in a split second one knife scarcely missed his neck while the other clanked against the wall above his right shoulder.

"That was on purpose," Shayera smirked. "Since  _someone's_  being a baby about getting hit. See, you didn't even get hurt. Right?" she asked. Not receiving a response she frowned and removed the blindfold. "John?"

The Green Lantern had slumped to the floor, a dazed looked was on his face.

"Oh suck it up you've been through worse than that," she drawled as she walked closer to him. She took notice of the small cut on his right shoulder. "A little rusty I guess. That can barely be considered a scratch though."

"That doesn't help. You could've hit my neck!" he hissed back.

She knelt before him and reached out to lay a hand over the small cut. "Looks like I need some practice to get back into the swing of things. No hard feelings though, right?"

"I guess," he stated as he took her offered hand and stood. "When was the last time you actually did this?"

"Oh I don't know," she shrugged. "Probably around twenty years or so ago."

John gave her an incredulous look, "And you thought this would be a good idea because?"

"It builds and fortifies trust. Simple as that," she stated with her hands on her hips. "It's an extremely effective technique I'll let you know."

"We could've done something a lot safer than throwing  _very sharp_  knives at each other," he reminded her. "We have plenty of effective techniques on Earth as well. Which, might I add, don't involve weapons or possibilities of inflicting severe bodily harm."

"I know that quite well. I have studied your human trust exercises and they aren't too bad. This was simply a lot more fun and exhilarating to do," she stated as she began to reach up to tie the blindfold around his head. "Now stay still we're going to do it again."

John groaned yet the feeling of dread he had when they first started had completely dissipated. He no longer was nervous of him accidently hitting her or vice versa. Perhaps this bizarre trust exercise of hers was working after all.

 


	46. Cranky

** A/N: **  Warning for Shayera's potty mouth.

* * *

John had done it this time. Well it was an honest mistake and a rather vicious mood swing put together. The poor Green Lantern had inadvertently called his pregnant wife fat. He didn't say the word fat but Shayera had implied the meaning from what he had said. To say the least he was in the doghouse now. She had refused to talk to him the entire day, besides the few choice words she had graced him with earlier, and shot him death glares whenever she could. John found out just how pissed she still was when he tried to go to bed that night.

John slowly opened the door to the bedroom and peeked inside. There she was his angelic, though incredibly temperamental, little pregnant demon. He closed the door and crept across the room before slowly sliding in beside his wife. As he began to wrap his arm around her, he received an incredibly powerful blow to the side of his head.

"What was that for?" He asked the back of her head.

Shayera rolled over enough so she could effectively glare at him. "Out!  _Now!_  You're on the couch tonight." And that was the end of that. No room left for argument. John knew the pregnant Thanagarian was silently promising herself that there would be additional hell to pay later if he didn't listen.

"Shay...babe...sunshine..." Shayera wasn't having any of those lovely pet names and impatiently crossed her arms across her chest.

"I swear John, I don't have the energy to deal with you and your bullshit right now." She then muttered, "I swear...calling me fat...idiot!"

John took his pillow and the spare blanket that rested on the end of the bed and headed into the living room, quietly closing the bedroom door behind him. When he was a safe distance away he muttered, "I'd like to see her spend a night on that couch and see how she likes it." John knew he would never be able to kick Shayera out of the bedroom as she would literally kick his ass, pregnant or not. He would be powerless to do anything.

He let out a tired sigh as he frowned. Of all the things to comment on, he just had to pick her weight. He was just being truthful and honest. He didn't mean to insult her in anyway. He certainly didn't think she would take it this far.

* * *

_ Shayera was eating chocolate cake topped off with chocolate icing and chocolate sprinkles. She had pleaded with John earlier to get it for her. _

_ John just watched her in amazement. That was the tenth time she had cake this week... _

_ This abnormal indulgence was due to Shayera's recent craving during pregnancy: chocolate cake. Whenever her cravings acted up she would literally beg and plead with John to get whatever she wanted, which was currently that cake. Of course, John would at first say no and then briefly lecture her on how unhealthy her cake consumption was. But it was futile as Shayera would usually respond with her pleading puppy dog eyes; John could never resist her puppy dog eyes. _

_ The routine was getting annoying and he was really sick of cake at this point. John was just stunned at how she could eat it all, not thinking of her faster acting metabolism. But his slip of the mind caused him to have a slip of the tongue. _

_ "If you keep this up Shay, you're gonna gain a lot more weight than you already have." _

_ Silence... _

_ This statement caused Shayera to drop her fork; it landed on the kitchen counter with a CLANG. She stared at her husband with very, very wide eyes. A dark atmosphere was steadily growing around her... _

_ "Did you...did you just call me fat?" she slowly asked as her eyes started to narrow, waiting for his reply. And it had better be good for his sake. _

_ Realizing what had just come out of his mouth, he scratched the back of his head, trying to desperately think of something to say. _

_ With no reply coming from the Green Lantern, Shayera's eyes grew thinner as she stood and began marching over to him. _

_ "Speak up you fucking jackass! You did call me fat, didn't you?" she loomed over her husband's ever shrinking form. _

_ "I...um...Shay I...I...didn't...uh...I didn't mean...um...listen I um..." his babbling did not help to calm her. It just seemed to irritate her further. _

_ "Bastard! You said I'll get even fatter which is suggesting that I'm already fat!" she was now up in his face, roughly jabbing her finger into his shoulder. _

_ "I didn't, I swear! I was...complimenting your fast metabolism and your ability to eat all that food without gaining a lot of weight. I was just saying how great it is that you're _   _not fat!"_

_ "Bullshit!" she shouted as she then threw a punch towards him. _

* * *

After about an hour, thinking she may of had enough time to cool off, he followed the familiar path to their bedroom and took a moment to strengthen his nerves before knocking on the door. When he predictably didn't receive a reply, he pressed his ear against the door only to hear the sounds of the television from inside the room.

"Shay? I'm really, really sorry," he said helplessly, yet still received no answer. "Come on, open the door. Please?"

This time her voice shouted back, "Go away asshole!" Not exactly the reply he was looking or hoping for.

"I know I'm a stupid, big-mouthed, insensitive ass. Please forgive me! I'm on my knees here..." Being on his knees was a little white lie but she'd never know.

Though, once again, it seemed like she would not reply.

Then the sound of a click suddenly broke the silence. John's heart skipped a beat as he scrambled down on his knees. There was no way he was going to be caught in a lie with her hormones going wild at the moment.

The doorknob slowly turned, the door creaking open. Her emerald eyes cautiously peered around the edge.

"Shayera, I-"

A pillow collided with his face.

* * *

It was past midnight and the temperature had dropped below the norm for the March night in Detroit. John shivered and hugged himself tighter, rubbing at his upper arms to keep his blood flowing. The flimsy sheet he'd grabbed from the bed was no help. He fidgeted, trying to get comfortable but the couch was hard. No matter which position he tried, he couldn't get comfortable. And of course, Shayera had assaulted him with the lumpiest of their pillows.

There was no point, he'd be getting no sleep tonight. John threw off the thin blanket and sat up. At a loss of what to do, he stood and paced over to the kitchen, then back to the living room, before he wandered over to the bedroom door.

He leaned his ear against the door, hoping for some indication that the Thanagarian might still be awake and calm enough to take some pity on him so that he could sleep in the bed tonight.

Nothing...

John's shoulder drooped as he sighed in defeat. With nowhere else to go, he retreated back to the couch. He laid down, folding his arms behind his head and stared at the ceiling above.

She couldn't stay mad at him forever...could she?


	47. Daddy's Girl

"Where does he live? I want his head on a plate!" John yelled as he stormed around the apartment. "I'll blast him before he can even say our daughter's name again. No better yet, I'll get Kilowog and have him rip this kid's arms right out of their sockets!"

Shayera chuckled as she got up off the couch. "John just calm-"

"No Shayera I will not calm down! Who the hell does this kid think he is?"

"John," she said as she walked over to him and looked into his eyes. "She'll get over it so just calm down."

"But Shayera," he groaned, his anger beginning to subside. "Do you understand what he did to our little princess?"

Shayera smirked, amused with his argument and irrational behavior. "Yes, I completely understand. But that  _does not_  give you any reason to kill him. She's a big girl and can take care of herself."

"I think it give me every reason," he muttered as he began to sulk.

"Listen John," she spoke calmly though it was apparent she was starting to run out of patience. "If you really want to waste your time then  _you_  can go talk to her, ok?"

"Wait  _I_  have to talk to her? Isn't that your job as her mother while I go out and kill the boy who broke her heart?"

"No, you know Emma. She won't listen to a word I say so it'd be a waste of my time. If there's anyone who can calm her down, if she even needs it, and can get her to listen it's you."

"I guess," he sighed, sounding a bit disappointed. He looked down at Shayera and grabbed one of her hands when she began to turn away. "But you promise that if she wants we can go kill him?"

Shayera rolled her eyes. "I won't promise anything. Just go talk to her and see how she is."

* * *

John stood in front of his daughter's room and began to plan what he was going to say. The whole 'there's plenty fish in the sea' approach seemed like a good way to begin. That and he had to reassure her that not all guys were the same and that she'd eventually find someone perfect for herself.

He let out a breath he didn't even know he was holding. "Emma I'm just coming in to talk, alright?"

There was no response so John slowly opened the door. Considering it was her first breakup John was expecting to find her upset, even crying perhaps. Yet she was laying on her bed, reading a book, and had her earbuds in as thought nothing was wrong.

Emma caught sight of her father in the corner of her eye. She placed the bookmark in between the pages and removed the earbuds.

"Dad, what's wrong?" She asked, noticing his expression.

That took John by absolute surprise. She seemed completely unfazed by what happened. He couldn't believe it at all. She had to be holding back.

"I wanted to talk about what happened," he said.

"Dad, I'm fine. Really I am," John heard that phrase 'I'm fine' a million times from Shayera and he knew never to believe it.

"Emma you don't need to lie to me. I know you have to be bothered by this." He sat down next to her. "He's only one guy. There's more boys out there who'll be better for you."

"Dad," she interjected but he ignored.

"He doesn't know what he gave up by breaking up with you. All the girls he'll ever date will never compare to you."

"But Dad," she crossed her arms over her chest as he continued to ignore her.

"Who cares if he broke up with you for a cheerleader?" He rhetorically asked as he failed to notice the deepening frown on his daughter's face. "You're ten times better than her."

"Dad will you please just stop and listen?"

"I get it, you want to let all of your pent up emotions out. It's ok let it all out. I'm hear to listen."

Emma rolled her eyes at her father's dramatic behavior. He seemed to have taken this worse than she had. "Look Dad, I'm over it already. I only dated him for like a month anyway. Am I pissed? Yeah but life goes on. Plus I've already dealt with him."

"You did?" John asked before warily continuing. "What did you do?"

"When he told me he was breaking up with me for that blond tramp I punched him."

"That's it, you punched him?" John couldn't believe it. With her temper he wouldn't be surprised to hear that the kid was in a body bag.

She shrugged, "I may have aimed for and ended up breaking his nose."

John felt a grin stretching across his face as he pulled Emma into a hug. "Good girl."


	48. Chopsticks

**A/N:** Set after the JL Episode: Wild Cards but before _Taking it Slow_ .

* * *

Shayera was fumbling with her food in the seat across the table, trying to get a handle on the chopsticks. Her head was bent over the Chinese takeout container. Her eyes gleamed in concentration as she fought with the two thin sticks masquerading as utensils. Having finally somewhat balancing them in one hand, she brought them down slowly to reach the the food. She lightly twisted her hand, determined and seemingly very intent on her goal. Slowly, she clenched her hand to bring the sticks together and just as cautiously brought it up. In between the two sticks was one lone noodle. Shayera's face lit up in triumph and she quickly moved her hand up towards her mouth. Her sudden motion caused the noodle to slip from the grasp and back into the container. Her face scrunched up in frustration and disappointment. John found the whole situation to be entertaining and adorable.

"Why did I let you talk me into this?" Shayera frowned as her lo mein fell from her chopsticks for the tenth time within sixty seconds.

"To amuse me?" John suggested with a grin as he took a bite with his chopsticks at a mockingly slow pace. In the past few weeks she had become a frequent guest to his apartment. Not that he was complaining, he enjoyed her company. Especially during moments like these. He found her lack of Earth etiquette to be amusing.

The Green Lantern watched as the Thanagarian once again struggled to grasp the noodles that was ensnared loosely between two chopsticks. It slipped from the weak grip, causing Shayera to cry irately, "Damn it!" This in turn ended with John laughing. Shayera snapped at him, "Who the hell are you laughing at Lantern?"

"You can't eat with chopsticks, can you  _shee-ahr-ah_?" Shayera gritted his teeth, deepening her glare at John.

"First off I can and second if you're going to call me by my name you could at least pronounce it correctly. It's  _shahy-eer-uh_ ," she drawled out the syllables.

"Really?"

"Yes! Now shut up and let me eat," she looked down quickly, even more determined not to let the food slip through the wooden sticks this time. She swore, again, and again, and again, until eventually she managed to grasp a small piece of chicken awkwardly. "Ha!" She shouted triumphantly, causing the chicken to slip and land back on top of the noodles. Shayera clenched her fists and John laughed again.

"Shut up!" She cried again, blushing with humiliation. "I don't even know why the hell I'm here." Shayera slammed her chopsticks down and leaned back against her chair with a pout.

"You wanted to try other types of  _Earth food_ , remember?"

"Shit that's right." she muttered through her clenched teeth. "Thanks for reminding me, now shut up! You're giving me a headache."

"That's probably because you're hungry since you can't eat with chopsticks," John innocently quipped.

"I can too!" Shayera snarled, glaring at John.

"Prove it," he simply stated as he gestured towards the chopsticks.

She irately grabbed her chopsticks again and attempted to pick up something out of her chicken lo mein container. After failing twice, she jabbed the sticks in the container, almost groaning from frustration when nothing stuck to the ends. "Damn it all to hell."

He held a piece of his own general tso chicken before her in between his own chopsticks, as if to mock Shayera by showing her the simplicity of the task. "Say ah."

"Get those away from me! I'm not a child!"

"I know that. Do you want me to teach you?" She mumbled something he couldn't hear. "What was that?"

"I said yes!" She shouted in defeat and John smirked

"Ok, pick them up." The Thanagarian did as she was instructed, causing him to chuckle.

"What?" She scathingly asked.

"No wonder you couldn't hold anything up!" Her hand was balled into a tense fist around the chopsticks. It was a miracle that she was even able to keep anything in the air for more than a second. "Hold them like me," the Green Lantern grinned, holding up the pair in his hand. "See?"

"Yeah, yeah," she muttered.

"Almost but..." John reached across the table and took her hand in his own, readjusting her fingers. "Not so tight. There, you got it."

At this point Shayera's cheeks had turned red, John's hand was warm compared to hers. She swallowed the lump growing in her throat as he continued to hold her hand. "Now try it like this," John maneuvered the chopsticks by squeezing and guiding Shayera's hand. "Got it?"

"Yeah, let go," Shayera brushed his hand away.

"Now you try."

Shayera positioned her hand, which tingled from the absence of the warmth that John's hand had left. She was able to lift and eat the noodles with ease this time around. "It's not that hard."

" _Right_...but next time if you want me to hold your hand you could just ask Shayera." He said this jokingly only because he knew she wasn't too keen on physical contact yet. Aside from their previous kiss on the Watchtower, Shayera seemed reluctant to let him physically touch her. He figured it was her being prideful and too stubborn to fully admit to herself that she fell for him. It was as if she didn't want to admit she was in a relationship with him. Though this could be a cultural thing with Thanagarians that he didn't know about so he brushed it off. She was slowly starting to come around.

"What!? I don't...why would? You...but I...you ass!" She muddled out in a flustered rant.

John just grinned in response and continued to eat. It took Shayera two minutes to position her hand into what she remembered as the proper arrangement, then she picked up the piece of chicken and smirked at it.

She ate it; savoring her triumph. John watched, amused as the Thanagarian's emerald eyes expressed everything. He admired her eyes, something he couldn't do when her helmet was on and the lenses covered them. Even if her face was unreadable, he could see what she feeling simply by her eyes. They went from confused, to determined, to proud, and then finally content in that one moment. "Your eyes show a lot of your emotions Hawkgirl. Did you know that?"

"Shut up!"

"Oh you know what...I almost forgot about this," he picked up a napkin and pulled out the fork he had hidden underneath it. "Want it?"

"Damn you Lantern!" The Thanagarian leapt up in an attempt to reach the fork but then froze. In that split second she'd opened her mouth, John had managed to plant his chopsticks in her mouth.

"Taste good?" John asked smugly.

Shayera turned a deep shade of red. The Green Lantern pulled his chopsticks away from Shayera and smiled. "Chew Shay, before you choke."

She remained silent for a moment before finally swallowing. "Why did you just call me that?"

He looked at her, puzzled, "What are you talking about?"

"Why did you call me  _Shay_?"

He shrugged, "Well I figured I butchered your name enough earlier. I only shortened it, a little nickname I could use for you." She remained silent. "You don't like it, do you?"

"No, it's not that," she seemed to be contemplating something. "No one has ever given me a nickname like that before."

"Well that's probably because no one has ever adored you like I do."

Though it was said in a mostly joking tone, Shayera inwardly agreed with his sentiment. She then smiled, "You're absolutely right. No one has until now."


End file.
